


The Crubio Trap

by Crubio2020



Category: Political RPF - US 21st c.
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad marriages, Divorce, Family, Father-Daughter Relationship, M/M, Past, Post-Break Up, Romance, Separated at Birth, Sibling Bonding, Sisters, Twins, lingering feelings, not Trump friendly, parent trap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-01-18 18:13:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 42,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12393444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crubio2020/pseuds/Crubio2020
Summary: AU.  Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio attended college together and had a secret past.  When Marco lost his football scholarship, they split up, Ted staying at Princeton and Marco returning to Florida, each taking a bit of each other with them and waiting for the other to contact him.  Eventually, they found women to marry and start lives with.  But what will happen when their secret past catches up with them?  (Sorry, I suck at summaries!)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I don't know if anyone reads Crubio fanfiction anymore, but I loved reading it during the campaign and I still enjoy rereading my favorites. I'd wanted to write one for a while, but had trouble thinking of an idea. Then this came to me. It's based on the movie "The Parent Trap," but there are some differences, and of course, it's Crubio! And I've created some differences in Crubio's backgrounds - in this fic, Marco's football scholarship was to Princeton, not the college in Missouri.  
> This is my first political fanfic so I'm really excited! Enjoy and please drop me a comment!  
> DISCLAIMER: I have never met any of the politicians or their family members. Emma, Caylee, their birth mother and her family, and just about anyone else you haven't heard of are original characters created by me.

\- September 1992 -  
The phone rang, interrupting Ted and Marco's heavy makeout session.  They both groaned in annoyance, but quickly resumed making out.  It was so hard to find time to REALLY be together.  Luckily, Marco's roommate had gone home this weekend, so that meant the two of them had the room to themselves.  
A few minutes later, the phone rang again.  This time, Ted and Marco didn't even bother pulling apart.  Didn't people realize Friday nights were when college kids went out?  
"Come into me," Ted whispered.  
"Your wish is my command," Marco whispered.  As they began to pull down each other's pants, they both thought about how right this felt.  They hadn't done IT yet, but at the same time, they both knew they were ready.  They'd both already lost their virginities to girls, but this would be their real first time, because it would be shared between two people who loved each other.  
On that first day of Intro to College Life freshman year, Ted and Marco had looked at each other, both struck by how handsome the other one was.  Ted had introduced himself to Marco after class and they'd decided to get lunch together.  They'd found themselves hanging out constantly, finishing each other's sentence's, making each other smile, making each other laugh, and always being able to talk to each other about anything.  Ted went to all Marco's games to cheer him on.  But it was more than friendship.  It was love.  
They couldn't let anyone know.  They told everyone they were just friends.  Neither of them knew any other bisexuals on campus.  
The phone rang again.  Ted pulled apart.  "Is everything okay?"  
"I don't think anything's going on at home," Marco said.  Why was the phone ringing so much?  His parents hadn't mentioned anything out of the ordinary when they talked to him yesterday, but things happened suddenly.  He sat up, beginning to get worried.  
"Are you okay?" Ted asked.  
"Yeah, this is just weird," Marco said.  
"If you want to take a break, that's okay," Ted said.  
"Maybe I shouldn't let this bother me," Marco said.  
"Do you want to call your parents and make sure everything's okay?" Ted asked.  
Before Marco had a chance to answer, the boys heard a knock on the door.  "Marco?"  He recognized the RA's voice.  "Are you in there?"  
Marco gulped.  He nervously pulled on his clothes, putting his shirt on backwards.  "Yeah, I'm here."  
"Can I come in?" the RA asked.  
Marco and Ted exchanged a look.  "I guess," Marco said.  Ted was pulling on his clothes too, so it could seem like they were just hanging out.  Marco pulled the covers up on the bed and opened the door.  
The RA came in with a look of seriousness on his face.  "Marco, you need to get to the campus hospital.  They tried calling you..."  
The hospital?  "What?"  
"I don't have all the details yet, but apparently Emily Walsh is in the hospital and her parents asked the hospital to contact you..."  
Marco remembered.  This was the girl he dated freshman year.  Well, for a few months.  They'd broken up in February.  Marco told her it was because he felt like he needed to focus on himself and his education, but it was really because he was in love with Ted.  
But this didn't make sense.  Why had Emily's parents asked to call Marco?  They'd broken up months ago.  He didn't want something bad to happen to her, but how much help could he be at the hospital?  "Do they want me there?" Marco asked.  
"Yeah," the RA said.  "They said you used to date her..."  
"Yeah," Marco said, feeling confused.  "I'll be right there."  
"I'll go with you," Ted said.  
About an hour later, Marco and Ted arrived at the Princeton hospital and were directed to the head trauma unit.  When they arrived, Marco immediately recognized Emily's parents.  He'd met them once last year.  Their faces were full of sadness and anger.  Whatever happened, it couldn't have been good.  
"Hi," Marco said, not knowing what else to say.  
Emily's father looked up at Marco.  "You..."  
"Is she okay?" Marco asked.  "They called me..."  
"She died," Emily's mother snapped.  "She was driving with some friends.  The car crashed and her head hit the window with great force..."  
Marco felt like his heart had skipped a beat.  He may not have been in love with Emily, but he would never want anything bad to happen to her.  She was a nice girl and he was sure one day, she'd make someone really happy.  He hadn't seen her since they broke up, but he still wanted good things for her.  "I'm so, so sorry..."  
"You should be," Emily's dad snapped.  "This is your fault."  
"How is this his fault?" Ted blurted out.  
"She wouldn't have broken down if he hadn't broken up with her," Emily's dad said.  
"I'm so sorry," Marco repeated.  What else was he supposed to say?  "I really am... I didn't want her to have a breakdown..."  
"Marco," Emily's dad interrupted.  "Were you aware that she was pregnant?  Are you aware that your daughters are now without their mother?"  
"What?" Marco gasped.  Emily had been pregnant?  Daughters?  Plurals?  "She was pregnant?"  
"She found out a few weeks after you broke up with her," Emily's mom said.  
Marco didn't know how to think now.  He had daughters?  "Why didn't she tell me?"  
"YOU BROKE UP WITH HER!" Emily's dad shouted.  
A doctor came in.  "Is this him?"  
"Yeah, this is him," Emily's dad snapped.  
"We should probably do the DNA test," the doctor said.  "I'm sorry, Mr. Rubio.  I know this is a lot to take in..."  
"A lot for him to take in?" Emily's dad snarled at the doctor.  "We lost our daughter!"  
Marco looked at Ted.  The girl he'd dated last year was dead and it sounded like now he had children of his own.  It felt like nothing was the same as it was an hour ago.  Would he ever even get to see the babies?  It seemed like Emily's parents didn't like him, so maybe they wouldn't want him around them...  
"You're going to be okay," Ted whispered to Marco.  
Marco wanted to take Ted's hand.  Or hug him.  Ted always knew how to make Marco feel better when he was upset.  But if he showed affection toward Ted, Emily's parents would probably get even angrier.  After all, Ted was why he'd broken up with their daughter.  
"Okay, do the test," Marco said.

So many thoughts raced through Marco's head as he waited for the results of the DNA test.  He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he was a father now.  At the same time, he felt horrible that Emily's life had been cut short and that his daughters would never know their mother, and it was possible they would never know their father either.  He felt terrible for Emily's family and friends, even though Emily's parents were blaming him.  
The wait for the DNA test was almost completely silent.  Emily's parents had left the room about ten minutes ago but had been shooting glares at Marco and Ted constantly while they were here.  
The doctor came in.  "Mr. Rubio, we have the DNA test results back.  You are indeed the father of the babies."  
"Thanks for letting me know," Marco said.  "Can I... can I see them?"  
"Yeah, of course," the doctor said.  "I know that you just found out about them, but you are their only living parent..."  
"Yeah," Marco said.  "I would like to see them.  Can my... can my friend come with me?"  
"Of course," the doctor said.  "Having him with you might be good."  
"So, what's going to happen to them?" Marco asked.  He hadn't even seen the babies yet, but he already felt a connection to them.  But could he give them what they needed?  His parents barely had enough money to put food on the table for him and his siblings.  He was only here because of his football scholarship.  If he kept the babies, he could see his grades slipping because he was so busy taking care of them, and he could possibly lose his football scholarship.  But would Emily's parents let him keep the babies?  He'd look for them everywhere if he had to say goodbye to them.  He'd just found out they existed and he already didn't want to let them go.  
Marco's thoughts stopped when the nurse stopped in front of two cribs that were next to each other.  Right away, Marco knew these were his daughters.  Both of them looked just like he did in the baby pictures his parents had shown him.  A sense of devotion and protection unlike he'd ever felt before ran over him as he stared at the babies.  "Hi," he said softly.  "Hi.  Hi.  Hi."  
"They look just like you," Ted said.  
"They're so perfect," Marco said.  "And so beautiful."  
One of the girls began to cry.  Marco reached forward and picked her up.  "It's okay," he mumbled softly.  "It's okay.  I'm here.  Don't cry."  
At the soothing sound of Marco's voice, the baby girl stopped crying.  Ted looked on with admiration.  "You're already so good with them."  
Marco looked up at his boyfriend.  "I don't want to let them go."  
"Then don't," Ted said.  
"What if her parents don't want me around them?" Marco asked.  
"They can't do that!" Ted said.  "They're your kids as much as hers."  
Marco sighed.  "It's not just that, Ted.  I don't know if I can raise two babies alone.  We're in college."  
"You won't do it alone," Ted said.  "I'll help you.  And I'm sure once your parents find out, they'll help you, too."  
Marco looked up at Ted.  "You'd do that for me?"  
"Of course," Ted said.  "I love you, Marco.  I've known that you're the one for me.  I knew one day we'd have kids together.  This is just happening sooner than we thought."  
Marco looked up.  "I love you too."  He wasn't sure if he'd fully processed what had happened tonight, but he felt so overwhelmed by his love for his boyfriend and daughters.  "Would you like to hold her sister?"  
Ted smiled.  "I'd love to."  
"We can do this, right?" Marco asked.  
"I think we can," Ted said.

\- May 1993 =  
"What are we going to do?" Marco asked.  
"I don't know," Ted said.  "I guess I could see about transferring to a school in Florida..."  That wasn't what Ted wanted.  He'd always wanted to be an Ivy Leaguer.   
"I know how badly you wanted Princeton on your diploma," Marco said.  
The past year had been full of ups and downs.  Ted and Marco had gotten an apartment off campus with the girls.  Emily's parents had surprisingly allowed Marco to have the girls, saying that it would be too hard to see them.  Since her name had been Emily Kathleen, Marco and Ted named them Emma and Caylee, in memory of their mother.  While they inherited their mother's green eyes, they both looked so much like Marco's baby pictures.  
By now the girls were starting to crawl and babble.  Both Ted's and Marco's parents had sent them money every month to help with the expenses that came from having kids.  But as happy as the girls made Marco and Ted, and as happy as they made each other, things were less than ideal.  Marco got a neck injury in a football game and his doctor recommended he not play football anymore.  
In fact, he'd needed neck surgery.  And he hadn't had an easy recovery.  
When he told the football coach that his doctor didn't want him playing again, he got the news he'd been dreading.  If he couldn't play football anymore, he'd lose his scholarship.  And his grades weren't good enough for an academic scholarship.  
Marco told Ted that he had to go back home and finish his education there.  That broke Ted's heart.  He loved Marco so much.  And he'd grown to love the girls as if they were his own.  
"I do," Ted said.  
"I love you," Marco said.  "And I want you to be happy.  It doesn't mean this doesn't suck.  I wish you could come back to Florida with me.  But I couldn't live with myself, knowing you had to give up your dreams for me.  We'd probably end up resenting each other."  
"I love you too," Ted said.  "No one makes me feel the way you do.  And we each only have one person out there for us.  For me, that's you, and I found you so young..."  
"I don't think I could ever find another you," Marco said.  "And the girls... you've been just as much a father to them as I have."  
"Yeah," Ted said.  He had no biological claim to the girls and he hated the idea of not seeing them anymore.  
"You think this isn't hard for me too?" Marco asked.  
"I know it's hard," Ted said.  "I hate this.  I guess we should just let the universe do its thing."  
"Yeah," Marco agreed.  "If we're meant to be together, we'll be together.  But I don't want to say goodbye to you.  I don't want you to have to say goodbye to the girls."  
"I wish you didn't have to go," Ted said.  "I don't want to say goodbye to the girls, but you are their father."  
"You've been just as much a father as I have," Marco said.  He paused.  "You should keep one of them here with you."  
Ted couldn't believe what Marco had just said.  "What?"  
"It wouldn't be fair to you to take them away from you.  I wouldn't have been able to raise them without you this past year.  Someone was always here with them, to give them their bottles, to cradle them when they cried, to change their diapers.  You're their father just as much as I am."  
"Are you sure?" Ted asked.  
"Yes, I'm sure," Marco said.  "You love them just as much as I do.  They love you just as much as they love me.  You've done just as much for them as I have.  I can't keep them both away from you."  
"How are we going to decide who keeps each one?" Ted asked.  
Marco took two pieces of paper, wrote each girl's name on the paper, and put them in a bowl, twirling the bowl around.  "We'll each take one name.  Whoever's name you take stays here and whoever's name I take will go back to Florida with me.  I don't like this, but it's the most logical thing to do."  
"Yeah," Ted agreed.  "Let's do it."  
Marco and Ted each took a piece of paper and it was decided.  The next morning, Marco returned to Florida, taking Emma with him.  Both Marco and Ted were full of incompleteness, longing for each other and their missing daughter.  But this was the right thing to do.  Right? 


	2. Move In Day

\- August 2014 -  
"We're here!" Caylee Cruz squealed with enthusiasm as her family pulled into the parking lot at Northwestern University.  This was it.  She was going to start her lifelong dream of becoming a writer.  She'd been accepted to one of the best schools in the country.  And it wasn't a fluke.  She'd worked for this.  She'd worked hard.  She'd attended Princeton for undergrad, just as her father had, and always been on Dean's List.  
"Finally," Caylee's almost four-year-old sister, Catherine, pouted.  "That plane was bumpy."  
"Well, you won't have to do it again for a while, since I'll be coming home for Thanksgiving," Caylee reminded her sister.  
"Are you sure you don't want us to visit between now and then?" Caylee's father, Ted, asked.  "You and your mom and sisters come to DC on the weekends all the time when the Senate's in session."  
"I'm sure," Caylee said.  "It's for the best that I really focus on my writing.  I want to get a publishing gig right after I graduate and I can't have any distractions!  I'm going to show everyone just how good my writing is... and I'm sure everyone will want to interview my dad since he's in the Senate, but only I can!"  
"Caylee, honey, remember what we talked about before we left," Caylee's mom, Heidi, said.  
Caylee rolled her eyes.  "I know.  I'm a great writer, but there's going to be other great writers there, too, and I can learn from them."  
"That's right," Heidi said.  "And I'm pretty sure interviewing your dad would be a conflict of interest."  
"I guess," Caylee admitted as the family made their way into the apartment building Caylee's studio was in.  The studio was bigger than the studios either of her parents had when they were in college.  When the family finished unloading Caylee's luggage, Caylee turned to her parents and sisters.  "Well, this is it."  
"Could you at least be a little sad about leaving us?" Ted asked.  
"We can talk on the phone and skype every day," Caylee said.  "And I'll send you guys all my writing."  
"Well, we're proud of you," Ted said.  "I'll bring your writing to show all the other senators."  
"Tell me if they like it," Caylee said.  
"The big American Girl doll store is here in Chicago, I want to come visit Caylee so we can go there," said Caylee's six-year-old sister, Caroline.  
"Not to visit me?" Caylee asked.  
"I thought you said you didn't want visitors," Ted shot back.  
"Well, if I'm not too busy, you guys can come visit," Caylee said.  
"We will miss you, honey," Heidi said.  
"I'll miss you guys too, even with all my writing," Caylee said, hugging her parents and sisters.  She was excited to start writing, but she thought about what she and her family had talked about.  Yes, she was a good writer.  Yes, she'd gotten one of two full rides to the program.  But maybe there would be other good writers she could learn from here.

Emma Rubio gulped as her family car pulled into the apartment building parking lot.  She'd been nervous about grad school.  She'd never been out of her home state of Florida without her family for more than a few days.  She'd gone to UF for undergrad, which was five hours away from her home in Miami, and gone home one weekend a month.  Still, writing was her passion, and she knew that Northwestern had the best writing program in the country.  So even though she was nervous, she was honored to have been offered one of two full rides to their program.  
It probably didn't help that the flight from Miami to Chicago had been delayed and she was getting here a few hours later than expected.  That meant more time to be nervous.  
"Emma, you know if you change your mind, we'd be happy to come visit between now and Thanksgiving," Emma's father, Marco, said, snapping Emma out of her thoughts.  
"Don't worry," Emma said.  "I'll be fine."  At least she hoped she would.  She'd told her family she'd wait until Thanksgiving to come home, hoping that it would help her adjust better.  
Emma and her family made their way to the apartment building.  She had to admit, she'd liked the looks of the studio she'd be staying in from the pictures she saw online.  Looking out the window, she had a great view of the Chicago skyline.  Her mom, Jeanette, had insisted, in typical mom fashion, on setting up Emma's furniture.  Setting things up probably would have taken Emma's mind off her nerves.  Instead, her siblings, fourteen-year-old Amanda, twelve-year-old Daniella, nine-year-old Anthony and seven-year-old Dominick, were rattling off all sorts of questions about the cool things they'd heard about Chicago.  
After the apartment was set up, Emma's family went out to dinner and went for a walk around Chicago, but her nerves still weren't going away.  She wished they could stay a little longer.  She thought waiting until Thanksgiving to see them again would make her miss them less, but she was just dreading them leaving.  She knew her siblings had school in a few days and they had to get home.  
As the family got back to the building, Emma knew it was time for goodbyes.  The flight tomorrow would be leaving at four in the morning.  "Thanks for coming up to move me in," Emma said.  
"If you change your mind, we can always come visit," Marco told Emma.  "One of the perks of being in the Senate is I can be on the first plane here or get you on the first plane to Miami if necessary."  
"We can come up when the Dolphins play the Bears," Anthony said.  
"Yeah, we'd win for sure!" Dominick added.  
"It's probably for the better that I stay here until Thanksgiving and focus on my schoolwork," Emma sighed.  Though visits were tempting.  
"You don't need to feel like you have to stay here, you know," Marco continued.  "I come home from DC every weekend."  
"Yeah, and I'm old enough that I could come spend a weekend with you," Amanda added.  
"I'll be okay," Emma repeated.  "We can always talk on the phone."  
"Chicago seems cool though, it would be fun to visit," Daniella said.  
"I'll tell you guys if I change my mind, but I'm sure I'll be busy, and you all will be too, with all the activities," Emma said.  "Sorry Mom, I won't be able to help drive them anymore."  
"I'll miss a lot of things about you more," Jeanette said.  "I expect you to call or text every day."  
"And I hope you send us the great writing you do," Marco said.  
"I will," Emma said.  She hugged and said goodbye to her parents and siblings and watched them leave, wondering if she'd made the right choice by not seeing them again until she went home for Thanksgiving.  She'd told herself she'd do her best not to cry when her family left.  They were out of the apartment and she hadn't cried.  That was something.  
Emma went downstairs to get a snack in the vending machine.  It was the little things that counted.  Her mom was a health nut and didn't like Emma and her siblings to eat junk food, so it was definitely tempting to have a vending machine in her apartment building.  
When Emma got to the vending machine, someone else was there.  And the girl who was there looked exactly like her.  Same squarish face, same nose, same green eyes, same chestnut hair.  The only difference was this girl's hair was just above her shoulders and Emma's was halfway down her back.  
The girl turned and looked at Emma.  "What are you staring at?"  
Great.  Now she was starting off on a bad foot.  "Nothing.  Sorry."  
The girl began walking down the hall and Emma wondered if she was being a bit paranoid.  She knew that sometimes anxiety could cause people to be paranoid.  She went back to her room and ate the candy she'd gotten, hoping everything would go okay when classes started tomorrow.


	3. First Meeting

\- 1993 -  
Ted looked around the apartment. Marco and Emma had left for Florida a few hours ago and Caylee was napping. It had been so hard saying goodbye to Marco and Emma. Deep down, he knew Marco was right. He'd wanted to be an Ivy Leaguer his whole life. As much as he loved Marco and the girls, he probably would end up becoming resentful if he went to a school in Florida instead. Maybe Marco's grades would be so good at the new school in Florida that he'd be able to get an academic scholarship to Princeton and come back. They could finish their senior year together, graduate together and go on to law school together. Maybe this was only temporary.  
At least he HOPED it was only temporary.  
His parents had told him to pray that things would work out. But he wasn't even sure if prayer could fix this. After all, he'd read the bible. God probably didn't approve of his relationship with Marco.  
But Marco made him so happy, so much happier than any girl he'd ever been with did. And now he was gone.  
He'd found a daycare he could send Caylee to while he was in class. He knew he was lucky to have parents in a good financial position who could help them out. But he didn't like the thought of a bunch of strangers not giving his baby girl the love and attention she deserved. He or Marco was always home with the girls.  
Small cries filled the apartment. Ted went into the bedroom that now only had one crib. "Hi, my angel," he said, picking up Caylee.  
Caylee looked around, as if she knew her other dad and her sister were missing. Her cries got louder. "I know, you miss your daddy and your sister, too, don't you?" Ted asked. He still saw Emma's face when he looked at Caylee.

Marco didn't want to leave Ted and Caylee behind.  
As the taxi pulled up to his parents' house, he couldn't get rid of the feeling that he'd made the biggest mistake of his life by withdrawing from Princeton and coming home. Why hadn't he just stayed at Princeton with Ted and Caylee and taken out student loans? Why had he let his parents convince him that this was the best option? They'd told him that he'd be drowning in debt for the rest of his life if he stayed at Princeton and that he'd have the family to help him take care of the girls at home.  
Little did they know that he'd only be bringing one with him.  
Ted had offered to come to Florida and transfer to a school there. That was tempting. There was nothing Marco would have loved more than for Ted to come with him and for them to stay together. But he had to be realistic. He knew this wasn't what Ted wanted. He'd read stories about people who gave up their dreams for a boyfriend or girlfriend and ended up hating them. He didn't want that to happen to him and Ted.  
He was tempted to call Ted as soon as he got to his parents' house to beg him to come down here. But he couldn't do that. He was the one who'd told Ted he couldn't give up his dreams.  
Emma started babbling. Marco picked up his daughter. "We're home," he muttered, gently kissing her, still seeing Caylee's face when he looked at her.  
Emma looked around, clearly confused. She hadn't been to Miami before. She was used to the Princeton apartment. And she was used to having her other father and her sister around.  
And then Emma started crying. It was as if she knew things were very, very wrong. Marco unloaded the taxi and sat on his parents' steps with his daughter, cradling her as the cries got louder. "It's okay, Emma," he said softly, trying to assure himself as much as her. "Everything's going to be okay. We'll be with your other daddy and with your sister again soon."  
Emma's cries didn't let up. She knew how wrong things were. Marco knew how wrong things were, too. He would do everything he could to give Emma a good life, but he couldn't shake the fear that he and Emma would never see Ted and Caylee again.

\- 2014 -

First day of classes.  Caylee hopped out of bed and felt her phone vibrate.  She opened it to see a text from her dad, with a picture of Caroline and Catherine making pouty faces.  "Missing you already!  Have a good first day!" the text read.  
Caylee had to laugh.  She loved her little sisters.  For the longest time, it had been just her, and she'd been surprised when her mom revealed she was pregnant during her junior year of high school.  Then her mom had another baby when she went off to college.  She'd always wanted siblings and felt a bit bad growing up seeing all her friends with siblings and not having any.  
The professor had sent out an email before class started, asking everyone to bring a 500-word piece to the first class.  Caylee had worked hard on her piece.   She'd shown it to her parents and her friends before she left Houston and they all thought it was good.  Maybe, just maybe, it would be the best in the class.  At least she hoped so.  
But when she got to class, she stopped in her tracks.  The girl from the vending machine was there.  She'd been weirded out her first night here, when a girl who looked just like her, only with longer hair, was at the vending machine.  She thought she was hallucinating.  But now, this girl clearly existed, since she was here right now.  
After introductions, the students in the class passed out their papers and the professor gave everybody one to read, mark up and make suggestions.  Caylee was reading the paper written by someone named Emma Rubio.  And a few paragraphs in, she stopped.  
Emma Rubio was a damn good writer.  
She made good word choices.  
She had good imagery.  
It flowed together really well.  
There weren't even any grammatical errors.  
Who was Emma Rubio?  And why was she such a good writer?  Caylee was always the best writer.  She'd gotten so many awards at Princeton.  Her writing had earned her a full scholarship to Princeton.  
Caylee tried to think of complaints about Emma's work.  She didn't want this girl stealing her spotlight.  Whenever Emma used a word she would have chosen a different one, she marked that.  
"Time's up," the professor said.  "Pass forward the papers and I'll give you each your papers back.  But first, how about we go around and introduce ourselves?"  
After some of the students went around to introduce themselves, the girl from the vending machine introduced herself.  "I'm Emma Rubio, I'm from Miami, I went to UF for undergrad... um..."  
The girl who looked just like her was the good writer?  This girl?  The girl who was stumbling through her words?  
"Can we maybe close the door?" Emma asked.  "There's noise from the halls coming in."  
"Sure," the professor said.  
Who was this girl?  She was weird.  There were people talking in the halls, yes, but Caylee didn't have any trouble hearing what their professor was saying or what anyone else in the class was saying.  
"Thanks," Emma said.  
At the end of class, Emma came up to Caylee.  "So, you're the one who looked over my essay."  
"Yeah," Caylee said.  
"I noticed you didn't like some words I used," Emma said.  "What was wrong with them?"  
What did this mean?  "Those words are so unoriginal," Caylee said.  "I went to Princeton for undergrad and they taught us to use words people don't think to use.  This is the best writing school in the country.  Prove you're worthy of your spot here."  What was she supposed to say?  She didn't think that Emma would come up to her and ask her why.  Emma had come off as a bit wimpy in class.  
"Well, thanks," Emma said, biting her lip.  
"No problem," Caylee said.  This girl was going down.

Maybe Emma should have stayed in Florida for grad school.  
She'd barely slept last night because she was so overwhelmed by being in a new place and already feeling homesick.  Chicago was so big and busy.  The people in her classes all seemed so sure of themselves.  The piece she'd read by Caylee Cruz was so good.  She could barely think of criticisms.  Caylee had written about her family's history.  Caylee's dad was the son of an immigrant who'd come to the US with a hundred dollars sewn into his underwear.  
Emma had written about her anxiety.  
That had probably made her seem weak.  And it turned out Caylee Cruz herself had been critiquing Emma's piece.  Caylee hadn't seemed impressed with Emma's writing.  
But it did look like there would be some great writing projects this semester.  And she had to admit, if all her classmates' writing was as good as Caylee's, she'd have a lot to learn this semester.  
The first day of classes had been exhausting and Emma wanted to get back to her apartment.  When she arrived, she unlocked her mailbox and saw that she had a slip that she had a package.  She smiled to herself as she went to the desk to pick up the package, then started heading back to her apartment.  
But when she got upstairs to her apartment, she again saw a familiar face.  Caylee was walking down the hall.  "You live here too?" Emma asked.  
"Yup, Rubio, I live in this apartment right here," Caylee said, tapping the door of the apartment next to Emma's.  
"I live in this one," Emma said, tapping on her door.  
"That's nice," Caylee said as she went into her apartment.  "Guess I'll see you around."  
Emma went into her apartment, trying to stop herself from worrying about whether she'd already managed to make an enemy.


	4. Phone Calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oops, I realized I made a mistake. Clearly my calculation is off. When I decided the girls would be born in 1992, I didn't realize that was the year Ted graduated college. So now my timing is off, but since it's been established, I hope you guys don't mind!

“I miss Caylee,” Catherine pouted.  
“I know you do,” Heidi said.  “We all miss her, but I’m sure she’s having fun.  You know how much she likes writing.”  
“Then why don’t you ever let me read her stories?” Caroline asked.  
“Because she’s so much older than you girls,” Ted said.  The truth was, he was sure he missed Caylee even more than Caroline and Catherine missed her.  After all, this was the second time he’d had to say goodbye to one of his daughters.  
The home phone rang and Ted went to answer it.  “Hello?”  
“Hi, Dad!” Caylee’s voice came over the phone.  
“Caylee!” Ted said.  “How are you?  Are you enjoying grad school?”  
“I want to talk to Caylee!” Caroline squealed, running toward the phone.  
“Just a few minutes,” Ted said before his attention turned back to the call.  
“Yeah, I love it!” Caylee said.  “It’s only the first week, but I think I already wrote one of my best pieces so far!”  
“That’s great, honey,” Ted said.  “I hope you’ll send it to me.”  
“Of course,” Caylee said.  “But for our next project in my one class, we have to pair up with someone else in the class and write a paper together...”  
Ted could detect the annoyance in his daughter’s voice.  “I know you’ve never liked group work, but remember what we talked about...”  
“They paired me with this girl from Florida who’s just so annoying!” Caylee groaned.  “On the first day I had to read her piece and it was so good.  I’m the best writer, Dad!  I always have been!”  
“Honey... if this girl is a good writer, I’m sure you two could write a great piece together,” Ted said.  “You might have more in common with her than you think.”  
“I’ll try,” Caylee sighed.  
“That’s my girl,” Ted said.  “Who knows, she could end up being a good friend?”  
“I doubt it, I don’t think she likes me that much,” Caylee said.  “She looked annoyed when I critiqued her piece.”  
“Give her a chance?” Ted asked.  “For me?”  
“I will,” Caylee said.  
“Your sisters want to talk to you,” Ted said.  “Is that okay?”  
“Of course,” Caylee said.  “I love you!”  
“I love you too!” Ted said.  When he got off the phone with Caylee, he looked at the photo he had on his phone, the one he didn’t even let Heidi look at, the one he had another copy of in under a fake bottom in his drawers in their room and in the Senate.  Caylee was paired with a girl from Florida, but there was another girl from Florida who was at the age to start grad school this year.  He stared at the photo of him and Marco with Caylee and Emma, wondering what Emma was up to now.  Was she in grad school, or was she on the five-year undergrad plan?  Had she started working right after undergrad?  Where was she living?  Was she in Florida with Marco or had she gotten her own place somewhere else?  What activities was she involved in?  How similar to Caylee did she look?  
At least he could still talk to Caylee on the phone.  Emma was who knew where and he had no idea what Marco and Jeanette would think if he contacted the woman that he had no biological or legal ties to, but still loved as a daughter.  And of course, contacting Emma would likely mean having to be in contact with the man he still loved, no matter how much he wanted to tell himself he didn't anymore.

“Can someone get that, please?” Jeanette called out as the house phone rang.  
“I’ll get it,” Marco called as he picked up the phone.  “Hello?”  
“Hi, Dad!” Emma’s voice said on the other end.  
“Hey, Emma!  How are you?"  
"I'm adjusting better than I thought I would, thanks for the package.  I really like my classes."  
"That's great!  Are you making any friends?"  He was concerned about Emma being so far away because she was so shy.  
"Yeah, there are some nice people in my classes, but there's this one girl who I got paired with for a project and..." Emma groaned.  
"And?" Marco asked.  
Emma groaned again.  "She's just won't shut up and she thinks she's a better writer than the rest of us!  She's good, sure, but she doesn't have to be so full of herself..."  
"Honey," Marco interrupted.  "Remember, this is a new situation for everyone.  I know you were really nervous about going to school so far away from home.  She's probably stressed in her own way and this is how she's dealing with it."  
"I guess," Emma sighed.  "I miss you.  I miss Mom too, and my brothers and sisters."  
"We miss you too," Marco said.  "Are you SURE you don't want us to come visit?"  
"It's probably for the better that I just focus on my schoolwork," Emma admitted.  "Don't worry, I can handle Caylee."  
"Caylee?" Marco asked.  The name hit him like a ton of bricks.  His mind flashed back to that horrible day where he and Emma got on that plane to Florida, leaving Ted and Caylee behind.  He'd been looking for Caylee's face everywhere he went.  He'd been hoping she'd come to the Capitol with Ted and he could catch a glimpse of her.  What did she look like now?  She and Emma were identical, but a lot could change in twenty-two years.  Was she in grad school, too?  Was she in undergrad still?  Was she working?  Did she know?  Probably not.  Marco had been tempted so many times to talk to Emma about what had happened, to give her Ted and Caylee's information.  But things were so complicated.  Marco and Ted were both married now and had children with their wives.  And while Jeanette had given Marco four of the six best things in his life, he knew he still loved Ted and he probably always would.  And seeing him again might be too hard.  He'd managed to go nearly two years in the Senate without their paths crossing, but it might not be that way forever.  
"Dad?" Emma asked, interrupting Marco's thoughts.  
"Sorry, got a little distracted," Marco said.  "I'm sure you two can come up with something great together, but if she's too much of a problem, you shouldn't be afraid to talk to your professor."  
"I'll try," Emma giggled.  
"Emma's on the phone?" Amanda asked, coming in.  
"Yeah," Marco mouthed.  
"I want to talk to her!" Amanda said.  
"Your sister wants to talk to you, is that okay?" Marco asked.  
"Yeah, of course," Emma said.  "I love you."  
"I love you too," Marco said before handing the phone to Amanda.  If Amanda noticed he'd been thrown off, she wasn't letting him know.  All these years later, the mere mention of the name could make him sad.  All five of the kids he had raised didn't even know that they had another sister.  He'd thought a few times about telling them.  When Emma was little, she'd asked so many times for a brother or sister until Amanda was born.  He'd been tempted to tell her but thought it would make things too confusing.  Once he and Jeanette established a life with Emma and the four kids they had together, it made things even more complicated.  But as much as he loved Emma, Amanda, Daniella, Anthony, and Dominick, Caylee was always on his mind, wherever she may be and whatever she may be doing.


	5. Discoveries

Caylee had a feeling that she wouldn't get to lie out by the pool much longer now that she was up north, so she might as well enjoy it while she could.  When she'd been looking for apartment complexes, she knew she wanted one with a pool.  The cool thing about the pool at this apartment complex was that it was on the roof.  The view of Chicago was amazing.  
Caylee saw Emma come into the pool area.  Maybe she should make nice with Emma.  After all, they'd have to write a piece together.  "So, we'll be working on a piece together," Caylee said, going over to Emma.  
"Yup," Emma said.  "I'll try to use original words."  
Was that comment necessary?  "Well, for your information, your essay sounded like you were just trying to get the professor to cut you some slack because you have anxiety!" Caylee snapped.  
Emma made a face.  "You're being so immature.  And you tell me that I'm not worthy to go to Northwestern?"  
Caylee did her best to hide her hurt.  Everyone always thought she was full of herself.  "At least I'm clearly ready to be here and don't look so scared all the time."  
"I think you can't handle the fact that there's someone who MIGHT be as good as you," Emma said.  
"Think what you want," Caylee snapped.  There was no use in arguing with this girl.  She left the pool area and went to the apartment, thinking about what Emma had said.  Was she immature?  
A few hours later, Caylee hadn't stopped thinking about the argument at the pool.  She was going to have to work with Emma and she'd told her dad she would try to make it work.  She went to Emma's apartment and knocked on the door, hoping Emma would answer.

Emma heard a knock on her door and looked through the peephole.  When she saw Caylee there, she considered not answering.  Caylee had picked at her insecurities at the pool.  What was she going to do now?  
But since they were partnered for the assignment, Emma figured she'd try to get along.  She opened the door.  "Hi."  
"Hi," Caylee said.  
Both girls stood there in silence for a few moments.  "Emma... I'm sorry," Caylee said.  "You're actually a really good writer."  
Emma was shocked.  "Thanks.  You are too."  She gulped.  "And I'm sorry I snapped at you.  It's been a bigger adjustment than I thought it would be."  
"Don't be hard on yourself," Caylee said.  "I'll admit, it was hard for me my first few weeks at Princeton since it was so far away from Houston."  
The girls stood in silence for a few seconds again.  "You don't have to just stand there," Emma said.  "Want to come in and sit down?  Maybe we can get some ideas for our piece..."  
Caylee looked surprised by the offer.  "Sure."  She couldn't help but notice that Emma had a pretty cool color scheme in her apartment.  She took a seat on Emma's couch.  Emma sat down and the two girls once again sat quietly for a few moments before Emma spoke.  "Do you want a snack or a drink or anything?"  
"Yeah, that would be great," Caylee said.  "What do you have?"  
"I made some brownies earlier, want one?" Emma asked.  
"Yeah, I love brownies," Caylee said.  "I always put vanilla icing on them when I make them at home..."  
"You do?" Emma asked.  "So do I!"  She went to her refrigerator.  "I was kind of in the mood for lemonade, is that okay with you?"  
"That's my favorite drink," Caylee giggled.  
Emma giggled as well.  "Looks like we have some things in common."  She cut out some brownies and poured lemonade for both of them and then brought them out for Caylee.  
Caylee took a bit.  "This is great!  Can you give me the recipe?"  
"Yeah, of course," Emma said.  
Caylee's phone started vibrating, and Emma's eyes fell on the backdrop photo of Caylee with two blonde little girls and the dog.  "So, are those your nieces?  Oh, I'm sorry!  I didn't need to snoop!"  
"Don't worry!" Caylee said.  "And no, those are my little sisters."  
"They're really cute," Emma said.  "I have four younger siblings too.  My sisters are fourteen and twelve and my brothers are nine and seven."  
"They're a bit younger, too," Caylee said.  "Did one of your parents remarry or something?"  She paused.  "I'm sorry, that may have been a bit personal."  
"Don't worry," Emma said.  "And no.  My birth mom died when I was a baby.  My dad married my mom when I was six and then they had my siblings."  
"So you're kind of adopted too?" Caylee asked.  
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Emma said.  "I never knew my birth mother, so I just think of my stepmom as my mom.   
You're adopted?"  
"Yeah," Caylee said.  "It's complicated.  Please don't hold this against me, but my dad was with another man when he was in college... and they had me.  Well, my birth father had me with another woman, but she died, and then my dad and my birth dad raised me together for about a year, but then my birth father had to go home, so my dad kept me."  
"So he abandoned your dad?" Emma gasped.  "I'm sorry, Caylee."  
"My dad said that wasn't it at all," Caylee said.  "He doesn't feel like he can talk about what happened, but he always emphasizes that he loved my dad and he was a wonderful person, but they had to split up and that I shouldn't have anything against him."  She paused.  "You're okay with my dad being bisexual, right Emma?  I'm sorry, it's just I haven't told people and since he's in the Senate, he keeps it really under the wraps..."  
"Of course I am," Emma said.  "And I'll let you in on a little secret, my dad's in the Senate too, and he's also bisexual."  
"I should have noticed when I heard your last name!" Caylee said.  "You're Senator Rubio's daughter, aren't you?"  
Emma smiled.  "Yeah, I am.  But I'm a hardcore liberal."  
"I am too, much to my dad's disappointment," Caylee laughed.  
"As much as I love my dad, I disagree with so much of the stuff he campaigns for," Emma admitted.  
"Yeah, I'm the same way!" Caylee said.  "Turns out we have more in common than we thought."  
"Yeah," Emma said.  "I'm glad we were able to tell each other this stuff.  There aren't very many people out there who came into being like we have."  She paused.  "Actually, after my birth mother died, my dad had a boyfriend who helped him with me.  My dad didn't even know my birth mother was pregnant until after she died and I was born since my dad and my birth mother broke up before she found out she was pregnant.  But my dad lost his football scholarship after he got injured, so he had to go back to Florida at the end of the school year.  But like with your dad, he always emphasizes that he loved my "other dad," that he was a wonderful person and that my other dad really loved me."  
"So, in a way, you have two moms and two dads, too," Caylee said.  
Both girls were quiet.  Their stories were similar.  Almost too similar.  "You're 22 also, right?" Caylee asked.  
"I will be on September 30," Emma said.  
Caylee's eyes widened.  "That's my birthday too."  
"This is so freaky," Emma said.  "I mean, we look alike, and we have the same birthday... our dads both raised us with a boyfriend for the first few months of our lives and never talk about our other dad, but emphasize that he's a good person..."  
"I know," Caylee said.  "I'm always trying to get my dad to tell me about my biodad, but I only have one photo."  
"I have one photo too," Emma said.  "If you show me yours, I'll show you mine."  
"Okay," Caylee said.  Both girls were getting increasingly nervous, neither wanting to speak out loud the theory they both had.  
A few minutes later, Caylee returned, clutching a photo to her chest.  "Okay, on three, we'll show them to each other."  
"Okay," Emma agreed.  
"One, two, three!"  
The girls let out excited squeals as they looked at each other's pictures and declared in unison, "That's my dad!"  
Emma looked at Caylee with tears in her eyes.  "So if your dad is my other dad, and my dad is your birth dad, and we're both born on September 30, then that makes us twin sisters!"  
Caylee had tears in her eyes as well.  "I can't believe it!  I have a twin sister!"  
With tears falling, the girls let the photos fall, pulling each other into a tight embrace, not wanting to let each other go.


	6. The Plan

"Okay, you need to tell me ALL about Dad," Caylee said.  She couldn't believe it.  Her whole life, her birth father had been a mystery.  She had no idea where he was or what he was doing, but at the same time, she wondered why her father never talked about him.  As much as she hated this thought, she had a feeling that he would always just be a theory.  Now she had a chance to learn about him.  
"Of course, but you have to tell me about our other dad," Emma shot back.  "I always asked about him, but my dad doesn't like talking about him."  
"It was the same way for me," Caylee said.  "I just wonder why they kept us from each other.  He always emphasized with me that our birth dad is a good person who loved me and that he loved my birth father."  
"Yeah, it's the same with me," Emma said.  "He told me that he doesn't want me to have any negative feelings about my other dad and that he doesn't have any negative feelings about him.  He said that things were just too hard, that he got injured and had to go home, and that he was worried they'd end up resenting each other if my other dad gave up his dreams..."  
"Maybe they feel like they shouldn't talk about each other since they're now married to and have kids with other people," Caylee suggested.  
"I was thinking the same thing," Emma said.  "When I was little, it would have been too complicated for me to understand."  
"I know," Caylee agreed.  
"Anyway, can you tell me about my other dad?" Emma asked, grinning.  
"He's so smart, like one of the smartest people you can ever hope to meet," Caylee said.  "And he's a great dad.  He's always been there for me if I need someone to talk to.  And he's a lot of fun.  I don't know if you heard about this, but he read Green Eggs and Ham to my little sisters - our little sisters - on the Senate floor."  
"I remember seeing that on TV, it was hilarious," Emma said.  "So weird to think he could have done that to me... to us."  
"I know, right?" Caylee asked.  "He was in school productions when he was younger and he likes playing the games on his iPhone, even though that drives my mom crazy.  He likes Candy Crush and Plants vs. Zombies.  He's been politically active most of his life and he actually met my mom when he worked on a campaign."  
"He sounds great," Emma said.  
"He really is," Caylee said.  "Anyway, can you tell me about our birth father?"  
"Of course," Emma said.  "He's one of the sweetest people ever.  No matter what, he'll always pick up the phone and talk to me.  And he's really, really funny.  He LOVES football.  He watches the Dolphins religiously and he follows my brothers' games as if they were in the NFL.  He also is really supportive of my writing and my sisters' activities.  He's really into electronic and hiphop and classic rock music and he drinks his coffee black, which I don't get because I need my cream and sugar."  
"I hate coffee," Caylee said.  
"Guess our taste buds aren't twins," Emma giggled.  
"Do you have any other pictures?" Caylee asked.  Her whole life, she'd had questions about her birth father, and now there was someone who had the answers.  
"Yeah, I brought an album of photos from through the years," Emma said.  "Do you have any of him on your phone?"  
"I can run to my apartment and get a few," Caylee offered.  
Emma perked up.  "I'd love that."  
The girls spent the next few hours showing each other photos from milestones throughout their lives, telling each other about the events where each photo had been taken.  "Do you think he'll come to visit at all this semester?" Emma suddenly asked.  "I'd like to meet him."  
"He wasn't planning on it," Caylee said.  "I was just going to go home for Thanksgiving.  What do you think they'd think if they knew we met and knew about each other?  Because I REALLY want to meet our birth father, too."  
"I don't know," Emma said.  "I'd like to meet the girls who are, in a way, my sisters, too.  I don't know if you can say that..."  
"They are, he helped raise you and they're his kids, so they're your sisters," Caylee said.  "I bet you'd like them.  Caroline's a bit feisty.  She's a goofball and I always find myself laughing with her.  Catherine's more subdued.  She's really sweet and she loves to make people smile.  What about our half siblings?  What are they like?"  
"I love them so much," Emma said.  "Dominick has so much energy and is always running around and he cracks us all up.  Anthony's like a mini Dad, he's just so sweet and always happy, and he's a great athlete.  Daniella's a great horse rider and a great volleyball player and whenever she gets into something, she dives right in and goes all out.  And Amanda's a really deep thinker, she loves reading and the nice thing is, now that she's getting older, she and I can have girl talk."  
"Now I want to meet them!" Caylee said.  Then an idea came to mind.  "Emma, you know what I think?"  
"Tell me," Emma said.  
"I think we should switch places," Caylee said.  "When it's time to go home for break, I'll go back to Florida as you, and you can go back to Texas as me."  
Emma looked confused.  "What?"  
"Come on!" Caylee said.  "We both want to meet the dad we didn't grow up with.  This is our chance!  I can teach you to be me and you can teach me to be you."  
A smile crept onto Emma's face.  "You know, that's actually a really great idea.  We should do it.  We have all semester to learn how to be each other."  
"Let's do this," Caylee said.

The semester flew by and the girls were spending almost all their free time together, talking about their lives at home and preparing each other for the switch.  It was a few days before the girls were going to leave for each other's respective homes.  Last night, they'd quizzed each other on their families and lives and both passed the test.  Of course, they had to fix the one issue that made it easy for people to tell them apart.  
Emma sat in the chair at the salon, her heart beating fast.  Her hair had been long her whole life and she pretty much only got trims once a year.  But if it meant meeting her other dad, she was willing to make this drastic change.  
She handed a photo of Caylee to the hair stylist.  "That's what I want."  
"No problem," the stylist said.  "You obviously want your hair to look like it did before you let it grow out."  
"Yeah," Emma said.  After all, in a few days, this picture would be of "her."  
In half an hour, Emma's hair looked just like Caylee's.  Emma studied the new look in the window on the bus on the way back to her apartment.  It turned out she liked it more than she thought she would.  Then her phone went off with a text from Caylee.  "Emma, how many piercings do you have?"  
Emma gulped.  "One in each ear," she texted back.  It had been a fight to get her ears pierced for years before her mom finally gave in when she was in middle school.  But knowing Caylee, there were probably more.  
"I have three in each lobe and one in my cartilage," Caylee texted back.  "I got my second hole when I was ten, my third when I was thirteen and my cartilage when I was sixteen.  They can't close up after so long..."  
Emma practically dropped her phone.  She worked up the courage to text back, "Okay.  Look up how to do it online and we can do it when I get back."  
When Emma got back to her apartment building, she knocked on Caylee's door.  "Did you find how to do it?"  
"Yeah," Caylee said.  "Do you have any extra earrings?"  
"Yeah, I can go get them," Emma said.  She'd been young when she'd gotten her ears pierced, but the person who'd done it had undoubtedly had training.  Caylee had looked up how to pierce ears online.  
When she got back, Caylee seemed nervous as well.  "How about you just lie down on my couch and get comfortable?"  
"Okay," Emma said, her lip quivering.  "It's not like your piercings can go away."  
"Yeah, I do feel bad," Caylee admitted.  "You have to cut your hair and get all these piercings, and I don't.  Your hair looks nice, by the way."  
"Thanks," Emma said.  "When I showed the stylist the photo of you, she thought it was me."  
"Well, we're already becoming successful," Caylee said, handing Emma an ice cube.  "Hold this against your ear."  
"Okay," Emma said.  "Just do it."  
After a few minutes, Caylee put the cork behind Emma's ear and shoved a needle through, both girls screaming.  "One down, five to go," Caylee said as the girls repeated the same procedure five more times.  
"Does it feel okay?" Caylee asked Emma when all the earrings were in.  
"I think so," Emma said, staring in the mirror.  "This is so crazy, but if we were wearing the same clothes, we'd look identical."  
"Yeah," Caylee said.  "I can't believe this is happening."  
"I'm going to meet my other dad!" Emma giggled.  
"And I'm going to meet my birth father," Caylee giggled.

"Okay, you have everything down?" Caylee asked.  
"I think so," Emma said.  
Today was the big day.  Caylee would be heading to Florida and Emma would be off to Texas.  "Do you want me to quiz you with the photos again?" Caylee asked.  
"I think I have everyone in the family down.  If one of your friends texts me, I can just say I'm busy with family stuff," Emma said.  
"Okay, I feel that way too," Caylee said.  
"Are you nervous at all?" Emma asked.  
Caylee was glad Emma was the one to bring it up.  "I hope he likes me."  
"He's going to love you, he's such a loving person," Emma said, taking Caylee's hand.  
Caylee tightened her grip.  "You're going to be loved, too.  Maybe we should wait a little while to reveal our true identities... let us find out more about them..."  
"Yeah," Emma said.  "I'm going to miss you."  
"I'm going to miss you too," Caylee said.  "I didn't think I'd be saying that when we first got here."  
Emma giggled.  "Me either."  
The girls gave each other a tight hug before Caylee's phone vibrated.  "That's the alert that the uber is here... for you.  Here's my phone and ticket and that stuff."  
Emma gave Caylee another hug.  "Give our dad and my mom and our siblings hugs for me."  
"And give our dad and sisters and my mom hugs for me," Caylee said, tightening the hug.  "You'd better get going, Caylee.  Good luck."  
Emma picked up the suitcase and smiled at Caylee.  "Good luck to you too, Emma."  
Caylee looked out the window and watched as the taxi drove away until it was out of sight.  "Good luck," she whispered into the air.  "Good luck."


	7. Meeting The Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally - Ted and Marco appear. LOTS of Crubio is coming.

Emma took a few deep breaths as the plane landed in Houston.  She would definitely miss her family, but at the same time, she was so excited to finally meet her mysterious other dad.  She was nervous, too, though.  What if she wasn't able to convince Ted (and everyone back in Houston) that she was Caylee?  They'd be seeing the extended family, what if someone realized something wasn't right and said something to Ted?  Would he be mad at her for this?  
Emma reached for her phone, scrolling through the photos.  Caylee had put captions to remind her of who each person was and a little about them, but if she saw an acquaintance, she was screwed.  
"Caylee!" a voice called.  Emma quickly remembered that was what she was responding to now.  She looked over and saw Ted with Heidi, Caroline, and Catherine.  
Emma had to stop herself from crying.  She ran over and hugged Ted tightly.  She'd been waiting her whole life to hug her other dad.  She finally was.  "Hi."  She fought back her tears as best she could.  She'd been picturing this moment for years.  Her other dad did give really good hugs.  
But her thoughts were soon interrupted when Caroline and Catherine jumped up to hug her.  "Hey, guys!"  
"Can you play tea party with us when we get home, Caylee?" Catherine asked.  "You can be the queen and Caroline and I will be the princesses."  
"Guys, Caylee just got off the plane," Heidi said.  
"I'd love to play with my little sisters, Mom," Emma said.  She did miss the days of her sisters being so little and being able to channel her inner little girl.  
"Well, we did miss you," Heidi said.  
"I missed you guys too," Emma said.  
"We all missed you, trust me," Ted said.  "It feels like it's been forever."  
"You have no idea," Emma said.  She tried to think of something to say in hopes that her family wouldn't suspect anything.  "So, have Grandma and Grandpa gotten into town yet?"  
"Everyone's in town, they can't wait to see you," Ted said.  
"Next year we should go to New York for Thanksgiving to see the big parade!" Caroline said.  
"Last year my - my friend from school and her family went to the parade in New York," Emma said, quickly catching her near miss.  "She told me it was pretty cool."  
"Did she like the big balloons?" Catherine asked.  
"I think she did," Emma said.  "I'm actually pretty hungry, the airplane food wasn't very good..."  
"There was food you didn't like?" Ted asked.  "You eat anything that won't eat you first!"  
Emma giggled.  "There ARE foods I don't like."  
About a half hour later, Emma found herself at Once Upon A Restaurant, a restaurant that was shaped like a castle and had employees dressed as fairy tale characters.  Little Emma would have loved this place.  When it came to order her food, Emma ordered a salmon salad, and Ted looked at her in surprise.  "Not your usual cornbread and chili?  It's been months since you had it."  
"I just wanted to try something different," Emma said.  "Speaking of something different, maybe I can take these two to the American Girl cafe in Chicago once I go back to school."  She and Caylee had gone there for lunch once.  Everyone looked at them weird, but they didn't care.  
"That would be so cool!" Caroline said.  "Caylee, Santa's going to bring me another American Girl doll for Christmas!"  
"That's cool," Emma said.  She looked at Ted.  "How's the Senate?  Do you think you'll read any more children's books on the floor any time soon?"  
"I think that's the only thing I've done that you liked," Ted said.  
Emma was thankful she and Caylee were both liberals.  "I have a mind of my own, what can I say?  Chicago's a really liberal city so I'm definitely finding my place there."  
"I'm sure you're enjoying it," Ted said.  
"Yeah, I am," Emma said.  "Though it gets a lot colder in Chicago than down south, or even at Princeton."  Maybe she was turning into Caylee, naming her sister's undergrad program with such ease.  
"Is the girl in the apartment next to yours still annoying?" Caroline asked.  
"Caroline!" Heidi scolded.  
"Caylee said she was a big baby," Caroline said.  
Emma was glad she and Caylee hadn't disliked each other long, but it did hurt a bit to know what her sister originally thought of her.  "We got to be really close.  She ended up being my best friend at school."  
"That's great, I'd love to meet her next time we go visit," Ted said.  
Little did Ted know, Emma was right here.  
"What is it?" Ted asked, noticing Emma's smirk.  
"Nothing, just glad to be home," Emma said.  
When the family got home, the dog, Snowflake, came running over to Emma and started barking loudly.  "Hi Snowflake," Emma said, leaning down to pet the dog.  
The dog didn't seem happy to be pet.  Instead, he continued barking even louder.  
"What's wrong?" Ted asked Snowflake.  "It's Caylee."  
"Well, he hasn't seen me in a while," Emma said.  She had a bad feeling the dog knew that this really wasn't Caylee. At least Ted, Heidi, Caroline and Catherine all were falling for it. Maybe they'd done a good job. Emma got out her phone and texted Caylee, hoping things were going well in Miami as well.

“Like me,” Caylee mumbled as the plane flew on.  “Please like me.  Please like me...”  
“Welcome to Miami and thank you for flying with United,” the flight attendant announced, breaking Caylee in her thoughts.  She was here.  Ready or not, she’d be with her only living biological parent within a few minutes.  
Caylee looked at her phone.  There were two new messages.  She opened the text from Emma first.  “So far so good!  They’re taking me out to dinner tonight and the house is really nice.  I can tell they really missed you, but it’s so nice to finally meet my other dad!  Hope things go well for you!  No suspicions so far, so we must have done a good job.”  
Caylee smiled to herself.  It was good to know she’d been missed.  It would be even longer now without seeing her family.  Then she realized that there was a text from Amanda, so she opened it as well.  “At the airport now.  Can’t wait to see you!  Be aware Mom is a little too excited.”  
Caylee gulped, holding in her nerves.  Had she and Emma done a good enough job?  Would the Rubios figure out that this wasn’t Emma and be mad?  She grabbed the bag labeled “Emma Rubio” and got off the plane, looking around the terminal, trying to hold in her nerves.  
“EMMA!” a voice shouted.  Caylee turned and saw Anthony and Dominick running toward her, both holding balloons.  
“Hey, guys!” Caylee said, hugging her brothers.  Her brothers.  This was the first day she’d had brothers.  “I missed you!”  
“I scored a touchdown in my game yesterday!” Anthony said proudly.  
“You did?” Caylee asked.  “I’m so proud of you!”  She looked a little ahead and saw Marco and Jeanette, along with Amanda and Daniella holding a banner that said “Welcome Home Emma.”  
“Emma!” Marco exclaimed.  “You’re back!”  
“Dad!” Caylee said, feeling ready to break down in tears.  She was finally meeting her biological father.  She fell into his arms, hugging him as tightly as she could.  She was thankful that Emma was more emotional than she was because this would have given it away to the Cruzes that this wasn’t Caylee.  “I’m home,” she said, managing to smile through her tears as she pulled away to hug her sisters and the woman who was supposed to be her mom.  
“You’re home,” Jeanette said, giving Caylee a hug.  “We missed you so much, sweetheart.”  
“This is quite the welcome,” Caylee said, nervously twirling her hair around her finger, her heart beating fast.  What if she slipped up somehow?  
“You cut your hair,” Amanda exclaimed.  “It looks so good.”  
“Yeah, I love it,” Daniella added.  
“Short hair makes you look even more grown up,” Jeanette said, stroking Caylee’s hair, her hand falling on Caylee's ear.  Caylee gulped, thinking she knew what was coming.  Sure enough, Jeanette tucked some of Caylee's hair behind her ear and gasped.  "You got some more ear piercings?"  
Caylee nodded as she smiled nervously.  
“Do you have any other surprises for us?" Marco asked.  
Caylee managed to laugh.  “This is it.  Can we get home?”  
“Actually, we were thinking of going to the Emerald Isle tonight,” Marco said.  “How’s that sound to you?”  
The Emerald Isle had sounded amazing when Emma had told Caylee about it.  “I’d love that.”  She picked up her suitcase when Marco grabbed it.  “Dad, you don’t have to.”  
Marco put his arm around Caylee.  “Hey, you just spent three hours on a plane.  I’m not going to make you carry your suitcase.”  
“Thanks, Dad,” Caylee said.  Emma had been right.  The man who helped create her really was sweet.  She grabbed his hand as he held the suitcase, not wanting to let go, wondering how she’d gone twenty-two years without him.  
“What is it, sweetheart?” Marco asked.  
Caylee couldn’t keep crying.  Even though Emma was sensitive, the Rubios might get suspicious if she kept crying.  “It’s just that I missed you so much.”  
“Hey, I missed you too, Em,” Marco said.  “How about we go get some dinner?”  
As the family left the airport, Caylee took in the sights.  The pictures Emma had shown her didn’t do Miami justice.  It was beautiful, especially the palm trees.  “It’s so nice and warm, warmer than Texas,” Caylee commented, noticing her gaffe.  She couldn’t help but notice the sad look on her biological father’s face when she mentioned Texas.  “Yeah, the girl in the apartment next to mine is from there, like I’ve told you, and we’ve told each other everything... it’s like we got to be sisters.”  
“It’s nice that you two got to be friends,” Amanda said.  “I remember those texts you sent us at first about how she always had to be the best at everything and talked too much...”  
Was this how her sister had described her?  “Well, she always wanted things a certain way, and she was a bit overly emotional, but once we got to know each other, we realized there was more to each other than that,” Caylee said, firing off her first impression of Emma.  
“Are you sure you aren’t describing yourself?” Dominick asked.  
Caylee managed to laugh.  “Hey, we had more in common when we thought.”  She’d been nervous, but now she realized she hadn’t needed to be.  
Finally, the car pulled into the restaurant.  Emerald Isle had a marble green building with a crystal glass door.  "Emerald Isle" was written across the top in sparkly green script.  Inside, the building was even more impressive.  The tables were also made of green marble with pullout chairs.  There were trees everywhere, and the waiters and waitresses were dressed in green suits.  There was a fountain in every corner, each a tributary to the indoor river that surrounded the island of tables.  The indoor river, of course, was dyed green.  
"This is so cool!" Caylee gasped.  
"Was it not cool all the other times we came here?" Jeanette asked.  
"Being so far away makes you appreciate home more," Caylee said.  "When I was at UF, I could come home as much as I wanted and now I can't."  She looked at the green menu after the family sat down.  "I love how everything's green here, even the plates and the silverware and the napkins."  She looked up at the waiter.  "Can I have the pasta with shrimp, but no sauce?  Just put oil and extra cheese on it."  
The people who were supposed to be Caylee's parents and siblings gave her weird looks.  "Since when do you eat your pasta without sauce?" Daniella asked.  
"That's so weird," Anthony added.  "What's pasta without sauce?"  
Apparently, Emma ate her pasta with sauce.  Then again, everyone did but Caylee.  "Oh, I tried it at school and it was really good," Caylee said.  "You guys should try it sometime."  
"Well, is our usual cocktail platter starter still good for you, Emma?" Marco asked.  
"Of course!" Caylee said. "You know I love that! Some things don't change." She got out her phone and sent a quick text to the real Emma. "Everything's going great here, too! Hope things are still going well in Texas."


	8. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! Happy late Thanksgiving to all my American readers :) (That's why I haven't been able to update...) Anyway, this is the first chapter to really feature Crubio, so I was super excited to write it!
> 
> (NOTE: When I wrote the parts in Ted and Marco's point of view, I did use the name of the daughter they think it is. Sorry if that confuses you!)

"Caylee, Caylee," a little voice whispered.  
Emma opened her eyes.  For a moment, she forgot where she was, but when she saw Caroline and Catherine standing over her bed, she remembered.  She was with her other dad.  "Morning Caylee!" Caroline said.  "Me and Catherine and Mommy made pancakes!"  
"Pancakes?" Emma asked.  After ordering a dish different from what Caylee liked yesterday, she was glad something they both liked was being served for breakfast.  
"Yeah!" Catherine said.  "Want to come downstairs and have some?"  
"I'd love to," Emma said.  She took the little girls' hands and went downstairs, where Ted and Heidi were waiting.  
"Somebody slept in this morning," Ted said.  
Emma made a mental note that Caylee was a morning person and she wasn't.  This was something to keep in mind.  "Sorry, just tired from all the work and all the traveling."  
"I don't doubt that," Heidi said, handing Emma a plate.  "Here you go, sweetheart."  
Emma looked down at the plate.  There was chocolate sauce on the pancakes.  As much as Emma loved chocolate, she preferred her pancakes with butter.  "Just the way you like them!"   
"Thanks, Mom," Emma said.  She noticed the coffee Ted and Heidi were drinking.  "Can I have some coffee?"  
Ted looked surprised.  "Since when do you drink coffee?"  
"Oh, it gave me extra energy at school," Emma said with a smile and a nod.  "It's just so good to be home."  
"You excited to see the family on Thanksgiving?" Ted asked.  
Emma tried not to act too excited.  "Oh, yes!  It's been too long!"  After all, as far as she knew, she'd never met her other dad's family in person.  
Ted stood up.  "Well, I should probably go pick up the turkey.  We did just get a call."  
"Can I come?" Emma asked.  
"Sure," Ted said.  
Once Emma was in the car, she decided to ask the question.  "Dad, do you ever think about... him?"  
"Him?" Ted asked.  
"My birth father," Emma said.  "Come on, Dad, I'm 22.  Why does he have to be such a secret?"  
"Where did this come from?" Ted asked.  
"Well, maybe just the fact that he's never mentioned, and you can't blame me for wondering about my only living biological parent," Emma said, trying her hardest to sound like Caylee while saying the things she'd wondered about Ted.  
"Caylee, we've talked about him," Ted said.  "I told you, he was a wonderful person, and he loved you so much, but things didn't work out.  After he had to go home, we thought it would be for the best for you to stay in a familiar environment."  
"Well, do you even know where he lives now or anything like that?  I don't even know his name!" Emma protested.  "And I've only seen that one picture of him... can you at least tell me his name?"  
Ted sighed.  "I'm not sure where he lives.  He was from Florida, so he might still be there.  But I don't know what he'd think if, after all these years, you found him."  
"You said he loved me!" Emma protested.  
"He did, so much," Ted said.  "Where is this coming from?"  
"Like I said, we never talk about him," Emma said.  "I love you and I love Mom, but it's only natural to have questions about the man who helped create me.  What's his name?"  
"You really want to know his name, don't you?" Ted asked.  
"Yeah," Emma said.  
"His name is Marco," Ted said softly.  "We met on the first day of classes.  We were in Introduction to College Life together.  We sat next to each other and we just started talking and before we knew it, we were spending all our time together."  
Emma noticed the tone in which Ted spoke about Marco.  There was still a tone of love.  Of regret.  Of passion.  She felt her heart flutter a little.  
No, she told herself.  Stop it, Emma.  He's married.  Your dad is also married.  Don't think this way.  
Maybe she shouldn't have asked these questions.  
"Caylee, did someone ask you about your dad at school or something?" Ted asked.  
"Well, no," Emma admitted.  "But being so far away made me miss you and Mom and the little ones, and it made me think about how I've been so far away from him my whole life."  
"He loved you so much," Ted said.  "We wanted you to have a good, stable life and figured this would be for the best and be the least confusing."  
Emma sighed.  "Okay.  I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."  
"No, don't be, honey," Ted said.  "You're right, it's only normal to wonder.  And I have no idea where Marco is, but wherever he is, I'm sure he's loving you and supporting you from afar."

What was up with all these questions Caylee had asked?  Yes, she had asked about Marco through the years, but it hadn't been like this.  Ted had been the one who just waited for Marco to call all those years ago instead of reaching out to Marco.  But now that he and Marco worked together, things were even more complicated.  If he introduced Caylee to Marco, 22 years of lies would have come out.  And knowing Caylee, she would be furious.  
From the time Caylee was one to the time she was eight, it had just been the two of them and he found himself needing Marco when Caylee had one of her fits or got sick.  Hell, if he and Marco had stayed together, Caylee wouldn't have had to stay with his parents when he joined the Bush campaign.    
Of course, on the Bush campaign, he met Heidi.  And while Heidi was under no obligation, she'd spent the last sixteen years loving Caylee as if she were her own daughter and done all the girl things with her.  Then they'd had Caroline and Catherine and Ted couldn't help but wonder how Emma would get along with Caroline and Catherine.  And what were Marco's other kids like?  Would Caylee get along with them?  There were so many questions that likely would never have answers.  He should have known these questions would come one day.  
But now that Caylee and Emma both had lives established, as did Marco and Ted, there was no going back.  Maybe this was how it was supposed to be.  
Ted looked over at Caylee.  She'd been quiet ever since Ted made that comment about Marco.  "You're being quiet."  
"We were just talking," Caylee said.  
"Are you thinking about Marco?" Ted asked.  
She sighed.  "Yeah, but what's the point?  He probably has his own life now, and his own kids and doesn't need me anymore..."  
Marco did have other kids now, but Ted knew Marco.  He was sure Marco missed Caylee as badly as he missed Marco and Emma.  "Caylee, listen to me.  Marco loves you.  I know he does."  
"At least now he has a name," Caylee said, looking out the window again.  "I really do want to meet him though."  
Of course Caylee wanted to meet Marco.  Meeting Marco would mean meeting Emma as well.  As into politics as Caylee was, Ted admitted he was relieved Caylee hadn't figured out who her biological father was.  
Ted's phone rang and he looked at the caller ID.  "It's your mom, Caylee.  Can you get talk to her?"  
"Sure," Caylee said, picking up the phone.  It sounded like Heidi had some requests for the errands.  Hopefully she would take Caylee's mind off things.  But Ted had a feeling this wasn't the end of the conversation about Marco.

Caylee opened her eyes and forgot for a moment where she was.  Then she remembered - she was in Emma's room.  She took a quick walk around the room, taking it all in.  She'd seen Emma's photos she brought to school with her, but now that she'd met her biological father and her half-siblings in person, it was more meaningful.  Seeing photos of the things Emma had experienced with their family through the years that she hadn't been there for was harder.  It had only been one night, but she felt like she'd known the Rubios her whole life.  
After looking around Emma's bedroom a little, Caylee was thirsty, so she opened the bedroom door to go downstairs for something to drink.  She looked at the clock and realized it was before 8 in the morning.  Maybe she was still on the school schedule.  She crept downstairs to really take a look around the living room, looking closer at all the photos on the walls of Emma with their birth father, their half-siblings and the woman who Emma had come to know as a mother.  This was a family.  Was she part of it?  Was Emma having similar thoughts in Houston?  
"Emma?"  
Caylee turned around and saw Marco.  "Hey Dad."  
"Are you okay?  You're staring at those pictures like you've never seen them before."  
"I just missed you and Mom and my siblings," Caylee said, hoping her smile was convincing.  
"We missed you too," Marco said.  "I'd expect you to be asleep."  
Caylee decided to toss it back.  "Why are YOU up at this hour?"  
"I have to take your brothers to football practice and then I was thinking that I'd go pick up some food for Thanksgiving dinner," Marco said.  "You know how later in the day the stores get more crowded..."  
"Yeah," Caylee said.  Emma hadn't told her - what would they be having for dinner?  "And I'm excited to go with you to my first Dolphins game... on Thanksgiving... since I left."  She found herself trying to stop her gaffe a few times.  
Marco looked surprised.  "I'm excited too, but if you get overwhelmed by the crowd, I'm sure your mom would be willing to leave early with you."  
"Dad, can I maybe run to the store with you?" Caylee asked, hoping maybe she could get him to talk about Ted.  
Marco smiled.  "I'd love that.  Why don't you go get dressed?"

"Dad?" Emma asked as they were heading to pick up the boys from football practice.  "Being gone and so far away for so long made me think a lot about my other dad."  
Marco was caught off guard by Emma's comment.  What was he supposed to say?  Every day he thought about Ted - and about Caylee.  Of course Emma thought about Ted as well.  There were so many times through the years that he'd wondered if he should call Ted, see how he was doing, try to arrange a time for the girls to meet each other and their missing father.  But he'd been the one who was stupid enough to leave all those years ago.  He was worried that if he called Ted, Ted would be mad at him.  He tried to think of something to say.  "What about your other dad?"  
"The fact that I have no idea where he is or what he's like or what he's doing, and that I've only seen one photo," Emma said.  "Come on, Dad, I'm sure you wonder about him, too!"  
Yes.  Of course he wondered.  And all he had to do was go a few floors down to find out.  But he couldn't.  Not after everything that had happened.  Not now that they were both married to other people and had children.  While he didn't regret marrying Jeanette because he had her to thank for his four younger children, he knew that he would never love her like he loved Ted.  "I'd be lying if I said that I didn't wonder.  There's also no reason why you shouldn't wonder.  But I don't know where he is."  
"Why did you guys break up?" Emma asked.  
"I lost my football scholarship.  If I'd stayed at Princeton, I'd probably still be paying student loans to this day.  Looking back, I do wonder what would have happened if I hadn't left."  He regretted saying that.  But he did wonder what it would be like if he and Ted could get back together and be a family with ALL their children.  
No.  He couldn't think that way.  He'd never even met the kids Ted had with Heidi.  And he was pretty sure Ted was happy with Heidi and all the kids were happy with their lives.  
Still, he hated himself for keeping Emma away from the man who helped raise her for the first few months of her life and from her sister.  "You've said that if it wasn't for him, you probably would have to give me up for adoption," Emma added.  
"That's true," Marco said.  That was true. "He was so special. He really got me better than anyone else at college and whenever I was with him, I found myself feeling happy and feeling good about myself. He's so smart. We always had so much fun together. He came to every single one of my games. And he loved you. He loved you so, so much. After I got injured, he took such good care of me - and of you." Had he said too much? What would Emma think of what he'd just said? Had he given it away that he was still in love with Ted?  
"What's his name?" Emma asked.  
Marco paused. Emma deserved to know that much. After all, there were millions of men out there with his name. "Ted."  
"Do you have any photos of him or anything?" Emma asked. "I only have the one..."  
Yes. Yes he did. Marco had a bad feeling that he would regret this, but he got out his phone and pulled up a photo of him and Ted when they were in college. "Here I am with him."  
Emma's face lit up. "Wow! Do you have any of him with me?"  
Marco tried to think fast. He had photos of him and Ted with both the girls on his phone, but he had to find one that just Emma was in. If this conversation kept going, Caylee might accidentally get brought up. And he knew how hurt Emma would be if she found out something so big had been kept from her for so long. He didn't want her to get hurt. He hated himself for what he'd done to her for 22 years. It had been him and her against the world when he first went back to Florida. He loved her with all his heart, but he always feared she'd hate him if she found out the full story. And the worst part is, she would be justified in doing so. "I'll look when we get home."

Caylee couldn't help but notice the look on Marco's face when she asked the questions about Ted.  She didn't know quite how to describe it, but it looked like he missed Ted.  He looked sad.  And he had a look of guilt as well. She'd also noticed how happy Ted and Marco looked in the photo of the two of them together... happier than they looked with Heidi and Jeanette...  
"So, do you know if he's alive or anything?" Caylee asked.  
Marco gave Caylee a shocked look. "What made you think that?"  
"We never know," Caylee said with a shrug. Maybe if she said something like that, Marco would feel the need to contact Ted.  
Marco pulled into the parking lot of the rec center where the boys were at football practice. "I knew you would ask me these questions some day. I'm so sorry this is how things have to be. You always can ask me anything, okay?"  
"Okay," Caylee said. She had a feeling she shouldn't talk about Ted in front of her brothers, but she was happy about where things were going.

Emma figured it was safe to call Caylee. Heidi was downstairs cooking dinner and Ted was taking the dog for a walk with Caroline and Catherine. Emma figured it was for the better for her to not go on the walk - every time Emma came around, the dog started barking loudly as if to say, "You're not Caylee!" Besides, now was a good time to talk to her sister about how things were going - and tell her about her talk with Ted this morning.  
Caylee picked up the phone right away. "Hey!"  
"Hey," Emma said. "You'll probably hate me, but I got Ted to talk about Marco."  
"I shouldn't, because I got Marco to talk about Ted," Caylee said. "He showed me a picture of the two of them when they were in college!"  
"Seriously?" Emma asked. "I'd only seen the one picture and you get to see another one!"  
"I feel like a bad person for saying this - but do you think they still love each other?" Caylee asked.  
Emma was glad she wasn't the only one who'd thought that. "I was wondering the same thing and I felt horrible for thinking that, since they're married, but he had a tone of tenderness and love and regret when he talked about him."  
"Yeah, same," Caylee said. "The fact that they don't want us to have negative feelings about the other one is definitely something. It's clear they still care deeply for each other."  
"I just feel like such a terrible person for thinking this," Emma said. "I mean, I'm thinking that two married men are still in love with each other. If they were to get back together, it would disrupt our siblings' lives and they'd probably be upset. I've always been the protective big sister of Amanda, Daniella, Anthony and Dominick and I hate seeing them get hurt. And I've already grown to love Caroline and Catherine. And even though Jeanette didn't give birth to me, she has treated me like a daughter."  
"Yeah, I'm the same way," Caylee agreed.  
"And the worst part is, even though I feel terrible for thinking this way, I can't stop," Emma admitted.  
"You're not the only one," Caylee said.  
"We did this to meet our other dads, we didn't expect this," Emma sighed. "This never crossed my mind before."  
"We'll have to see how things keep going," Caylee said. "Maybe this'll pass."  
"Yeah," Emma said. "But I'm having such a great time down here! I feel like I've known my other dad and my little sisters forever and it's been so short!"  
"I know, I'm the same," Caylee said. "Our birth father is so amazing. And you were right, I love our siblings."  
Emma heard footsteps coming up the stairs. "I think I hear someone coming upstairs," Emma said quietly. "We'll talk later."  
"Okay, have fun!" Caylee said.  
"You too!" Emma said before she hung up the phone.


	9. Revelations

This was the first time Emma had spent a holiday away from home.  Caroline and Catherine were watching the Macy's Parade in the living room, and every time Emma glanced over, she was reminded of last Thanksgiving that her family spent in New York.  They'd had a great view of the parade from their hotel room and they'd gone to Sardi's for Thanksgiving dinner.  Her brothers still believed in Santa, so they'd gone to Macy's to meet him.  At the same time, she'd missed spending Thanksgiving with her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  This year, Emma wouldn't be spending Thanksgiving with the Rubios at all.  She hoped the people she'd grown up with were having a nice holiday.  She got out her phone and sent a text to Caylee, telling her to wish the Rubios a Happy Thanksgiving for her.  
Emma tried to keep the thoughts of homesickness out of her mind as she helped prepare Thanksgiving dinner with Heidi.  She'd really hoped her anxiety wouldn't act up in Houston, especially since Caylee didn't have anxiety issues.  But ever since she and Ted talked about Marco, she'd been worried.  What if he got suspicious that she wasn't Caylee?  It was clear the dog knew she wasn't Caylee.  She hadn't brought up Marco since that conversation, but she was worried she'd annoyed Ted.  She'd done this to get close to him and it felt like that was happening, but had she crossed the line?  
Right now, her cartilage was hurting as well and she was worried it was infected.  She'd looked it up online and learned that infections were more likely with home piercings.  Maybe she'd just been sleeping on her ears weird.  Maybe.  
"Quieter than usual since you got back," Heidi commented as Emma finished tossing the salad.  
"Sorry Mom," Emma said.  
"It's nothing to be sorry about," Heidi said.  
Emma's phone vibrated.  She looked and saw a text from Caylee.  "We're on our way to the Dolphins game and then having dinner with the family tonight!  I don't know how you wear that jersey.  Those colors don't go together at all!"  
Emma giggled.  Well, this was a reason to be glad she wasn't in Miami.  "Well, at least I don't have to deal with the crowd!" she texted back.  
The door opened and Ted came in with his father.  "Hi Grandpa!  It's so nice to meet - to see you!" Emma said, catching her gaffe.  "I wrote an essay about how you came over from Cuba with a hundred dollars sewn into your underwear."  She remembered Caylee's first essay.  
"She did," Ted said.  "She's done some great writing this semester."  He put his arm around Emma and smiled with pride.  Maybe she was worrying too much.  As usual.  
"Yeah, I love it," Emma said.  "My classes are really interesting."  
"Well, I'm proud of you, Caylee," Rafael said.  "God has really blessed you with a talent for writing."  
Emma smiled.  "Thanks.  There are lots of other good writers there, too."  
"We are glad to have her home though," Ted said.  
"And I'm glad to be home," Emma said.  "The food all looks so good, too."  
"It's the same things your mom makes every year," Ted said.  
"But I've really enjoyed having home cooked food again!" Emma repeated.  
Snowflake came into the room and began barking loudly.  "What's up with you?" Rafael asked the dog.  
"Ever since Caylee came home, he's been acting weird," Ted said.  
"Really?" Rafael asked.  
"Yeah, he must not be used to having me around anymore," Emma said.  Why was her cartilage hurting so much?  "I'm going to go upstairs real quick, okay?"  
"Of course, you don't need to ask," Ted said.  
Emma went up to Caylee's bathroom, some cold water over a washcloth and held it against her ear.  She then went in the bedroom and began pacing around.  "You don't need to worry so much.  You're going to be okay.  He loves you and he's always loved you.  They thought this was for the best.  It's fine.  You're okay..."  
The door opened.  "What's going on?" Ted asked.  
Emma jumped.  "Dad!"  How much had Ted heard?  "My ear really hurts..."  That wasn't a lie, but Emma had gone upstairs because her anxiety was acting up this morning.  
"Caylee, the rest of the family is here.  We're waiting for you before we start dinner..." Ted began.  
Emma took a deep breath.  "Yeah, I'll be right down."  She felt her heart beating fast.  She was sweating.  Her breathing didn't even feel regular.  Her emergency anti-anxiety meds were hidden in her purse, but Ted would figure out what was going on if Emma got her meds.  
"Okay," Ted said.  "Are you sure you're okay?"  
"Yeah," Emma said.  She went into Caylee's bathroom and took a few deep breaths before splashing her face with water.  It was only a matter of time before she had a panic attack here. She'd hoped she wouldn't, but it was naive of her to think it wouldn't happen.  If she tried to talk to Ted about her panic attack, she'd have to reveal her real identity.  Caylee was probably at the Dolphins game now and wouldn't hear her phone.  She couldn't call Marco - he was also at the Dolphins game and he thought Emma was in Miami with him.  None of her friends knew what she and Caylee had done.  
After a few minutes, Emma decided to go downstairs.  Almost as soon as she got downstairs, she was whisked into a corner by Heidi's parents, who wanted to hear about Northwestern.

"Did you girls have fun Black Friday shopping?" Marco asked as Caylee, Amanda and Daniella came inside. Caylee knew that even though she was in a different city, she had to keep up her tradition of going Black Friday shopping for the early morning sales. She had bought gifts for her family back in Houston, telling Amanda and Daniella that the gifts were for people she knew at school to pass on to people and that they didn't have these stores in their hometowns. Luckily, her sisters didn't give it much thought.  
"Yeah, it was awesome," Amanda said. "We had hot fudge sundaes for breakfast."  
"Girls, what happened to healthy eating?" Marco asked.  
"Hey, it's my first Black Friday shopping trip with my little sisters, I think we can break the rules a little," Caylee said.  
"And you weren't bothered by the crowds?" Jeanette asked Caylee. "First the Dolphins game, now Black Friday..."  
"It was fine," Caylee said. She noticed Anthony and Dominick sitting at the kitchen table. "They were waiting for you guys to get home," Anthony said.  
"Waiting for us to get home?" Daniella asked.  
Marco looked nervous. "Yeah. Guys, we wanted to talk to you, to all five of you, about something.  Before Emma goes back to school."  
Caylee got a bad feeling.  Was this something the actual Emma should know?  
"Before we say anything, we want you guys to know we love all five of you so much," Marco added.  "That's never going to change."  
This definitely didn't sound good.  "What's going on?" Amanda asked.  "You're making me nervous."  
Marco and Jeanette shared a look.  Caylee tried to interpret this look, but she didn't know how.  She'd only known them a few days.  "We might as well just say it because there's no good way to say it," Jeanette said.  "Your father and I are getting a divorce."  
"What?  No!" Dominick wailed.  
Caylee felt a huge twinge of guilt.  Emma should be here now.  The people who'd raised her were getting a divorce and she didn't know.  How was she going to react?  She'd grown to love her half-siblings in the past few days, but she knew they'd want their big sister who they'd had their whole lives now.  Daniella had already grabbed Caylee's hand.  Caylee looked and saw tears in her sister's eyes.  She felt so horrible for all of them.  Emma was going to have to get the news from her and now they'd have to reveal what they'd done.  Would their dads be mad at them?  Would their siblings hate them?  She felt like she'd intruded a private moment because Emma Rubio was supposed to be here right now, not Caylee Cruz.  
"I don't understand," Amanda sighed.  "This doesn't make sense."  
"We really tried to make this work," Marco said.  "For you guys.  We really wanted it to work.  But things just aren't working out between your mother and me."  
"I know it seems like a surprise to you guys, but this has been a long time coming," Jeanette said.  "Your dad and I tried to make things work, but we just couldn't."  
"Don't think we regret it," Marco added.  "We got you out of each other and like I said, no matter what, we'll always love you guys.  We're going to do everything we can to keep giving you everything you deserve."  
"You made it work for sixteen years," Daniella pleaded.  "Please don't do this."  
"I want us to all still live together," Anthony whined.  
All four of the younger kids were crying by now.  Caylee jumped up.  "I just need to go upstairs for a minute."  She bolted up to Emma's room, not listening to the pleas to Marco and Jeanette and the reassurance that things would be okay.

"Hey Caylee, can I come in for a minute?" Ted asked, stepping into Caylee's room.  
"Yeah, of course," Emma said.  Caylee's phone vibrated.  Her own name appeared on the screen.  Whatever Caylee was calling about, it could probably wait.  
"I need to go to DC tomorrow," Ted sighed.  "I hate to abandon you when you're home on break, but my committee is having an emergency meeting..."  
Emma pouted.  "Dad, I want more time with you!"  
"I feel horrible," Ted said.  "But this is an important bill we're drafting..."  
"Whatever it is, I'll probably disagree with it," Emma said.  
"That is probably true," Ted laughed.  
The phone vibrated again.  Emma silenced it.  "Dad, I just don't understand why we don't have universal healthcare.  So many European countries have it..."  
"Caylee, we've talked about this..." Ted began.  
"Not really!" Emma protested.  She stopped herself, not wanting to argue with her dad.  After all, who knew when she'd get to be with him again?  "Well, can I at least come up to DC with you?  Come on, you've been in the Senate nearly two years and I still haven't been to DC!"  Neither had Emma as herself.  Now that the secret was out, it made sense why she'd never been.  "Even though I disagree with you, you know how much I love politics, and where better to go for that than DC?"  
Ted paused.  "Maybe you could come.  After all, next week your sisters will be back in school, and it could get lonely sitting around the house."  
Maybe being in DC could get Ted to talk more about Marco.  "Thanks, Dad!  I'd love to!"  
As Ted left, Emma looked at the phone again.  There was another missed call and a text from Caylee: "Call me right away."  
Emma dialed Caylee's number.  "What's going on?  Aren't I supposed to be the one who freaks out over stuff?"  
"Emma, I'm so sorry you have to hear this from me..." Caylee said.  
Emma immediately found herself getting nervous.  "Hear what?"  Was someone in her family sick or something?  
"Our dad and your mom are getting a divorce," Caylee said.  "I'm sorry Emma, they told us, they told me and our siblings, they thought I was you... but I felt like you needed to know... and if they find out what's going on..."  
Emma felt her heart sink.  Her parents were getting a divorce.  The man who'd helped create her and raised her and always been there for her would no longer be living with the woman who had been her mother despite having no obligation to do so.  "What?"  
"Yeah, like I said, they just told us," Caylee said.  "They said that they just couldn't make it work anymore.  I feel so guilty.  Our siblings are upset and I feel like you should be here to be there for them..."  
"Are they okay?" Emma asked.  She felt horrible that she couldn't be there for her siblings.  After all, these were both their parents.  Their lives were about to change forever.  
"Maybe we shouldn't have done this," Caylee sighed.  
"We didn't know," Emma said.  "Look, be there for them, okay?  Maybe you shouldn't tell them, they're probably pretty upset.  Our dad and I are going to DC tomorrow.  I'll try to find a way to talk to him about this... we're going to be in so much trouble."  
"We would have had to reveal ourselves sooner or later, but this makes everything such a bigger mess," Caylee said.  
"Our dads are probably going to be furious," Emma worried out loud.  "Our siblings will probably hate us..."  When she went back to Florida, where would she go?  Would it be the house she'd spent her life in?  Would she even still be welcome there once her dads and her mom found out about what she and Caylee had done?  
"I don't know what to do," Caylee admitted.  
"Neither do I," Emma said. "I feel so guilty."  
"Me too, but we didn't know this would happen, we just wanted to meet them," Caylee said.  
"A divorce though," Emma said. She didn't know how to react. Maybe it hadn't hit her hard enough yet.

Marco knocked on Emma's door.  "Emma, can I come in?  Or can your mother come in?  I know you're upset, but we tried to make things work..."  
"I know, you said that," Emma snapped.  
Marco knew he shouldn't have expected the kids to just sit there and take this.  He and Jeanette really had tried to make the marriage work for their sake, but this wasn't what a marriage was supposed to be and they both knew it.  Eventually, a point came where it was time to stop pretending.  "You have every right to be mad.  We didn't want to do this to you and your siblings, trust me."  
"We have lots of reasons to be mad," Emma snapped.  
"Emma..." Marco began.  This wasn't like his daughter.  Granted, this was an unfamiliar situation, but she rarely got full out angry.  When things didn't go how she wanted, she was often sad rather than angry.  
"That's why I came running up here.  I had to tell Emma," some sobs came from behind the door.  
What did that mean?  "Okay," Marco said.  "And where is Emma?"  
The door opened and the young woman looked at her father.  "In Houston, with her other father Ted Cruz."  
Marco was sure his heart skipped a beat.  What was happening?  "You're not Emma?"  
"I'm not Emma."  
Marco felt tears coming to his eyes.  "You're Caylee?"  
Caylee took a deep breath.  "I am."  
Jeanette stepped away and closed the door, leaving Marco alone with Caylee.  "Emma and I ended up having apartments next to each other at Northwestern, and the whole thing kind of slipped out.  I really wanted to meet you and she really wanted to meet him... because even though you kept us from each other and each from one of you, I love you and I've loved you my whole life, and Emma feels that way, too.  So we decided to pretend to be each other, with me coming here and Emma going to Houston."  
Marco looked at the young woman standing in front of him.  For 21 years, he'd been looking for Caylee's face wherever he went, wondering where she was and what she was doing.  Now here she was.  She'd been with him for days and he hadn't known it.  He'd known something wasn't the same, but he didn't know...  
"Sweetheart, I've loved you your whole life," Marco said, pulling Caylee in for a hug.  "I always have and I always will.  And you're right.  What your father and I did wasn't right.  We were young and we thought it was for the best, but this wasn't the right thing to do."  
"You're not mad at me?" Caylee asked.  
Marco kissed Caylee's forehead.  "No, sweetie, of course I'm not mad.  Of course you wanted to meet me and Emma wanted to meet Ted.  I shouldn't have done this.  I should have called Ted so you and Emma could meet and so I could see you.  I've never stopped thinking about you or loving you."  
Caylee managed to say what she'd known.  "I'm guessing now you need to unswitch us, huh?"  
Marco sighed.  Now that he knew he had Caylee, he didn't want to let her go.  She was legally an adult now, but when she was under 18, he'd had no legal claims to her.  "Well... I want you to stay here with me, but legally, you're Ted's daughter and Emma's mine."  
Caylee knew that, too.  As much as she'd enjoyed being with Marco, she did miss the man who'd raised her.  "The whole arrangement sucks, Dad... I mean Marco.  Sorry."  Now that he knew who she was, would he even still want her calling him Dad?  
"Yeah, it does suck," Marco admitted.  "And Caylee, please don't feel like you have to call me Marco.  If you want to call me Dad, I'd love that.  Even though I didn't raise you, you are my daughter."  
Caylee managed to smile.  "So, I talked to Emma.  She's going up to DC with Ted, Caroline and Catherine.  Maybe we should go there, see them, and figure things out."  
"Yeah, maybe we should," Marco agreed.  "And maybe seeing both of you will help your siblings understand everything... or at least try to understand it."

Emma opened her phone. She'd gotten a text from Caylee. Caylee and Marco would be going to DC as well, along with their siblings. And if Caylee had revealed who she was to Marco, then Emma knew she should reveal herself to Ted.  
Emma went downstairs and saw Heidi in the living room. "Is Dad around?" Emma asked, taking deep breaths.  
"He had to run to his San Antonio office to pick some things up," Heidi said. "But he and I talked, and the girls and I will be coming, too! We don't have too much time to all be together as a family..."  
"Great," Emma said. She wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that she would have to put off revealing her identity to Ted.  
"Is there anything you wanted to talk about, honey?" Heidi asked.  
"What do you mean?" Emma asked, fiddling with her bracelet.  Well, Caylee's bracelet.  What if she broke it?  
"You just haven't been yourself since you got home," Heidi said.  "I mean, you're so much quieter, more reserved, more sensitive.  Your appetite's changed and the dog won't even come near you anymore.  Did something happen at Northwestern to upset you or something?"  
Emma shook her head, trying to think of what to say.  "I just changed a lot."  
Heidi didn't look convinced.  "Okay.  You know you can talk to me if you need to.  If I didn't know better, I'd say it was almost as if you were..."   
Oh no.  "Almost as if I were who, Mom?"  
Heidi started to leave the room.  "It's complicated and it's impossible anyway."  
Emma knew where this was going.  "Almost as if I were... Emma?"  
Heidi turned.  "You know about Emma?"  
Emma didn't know what to say.  "Who told you about Emma?" Heidi asked.  
Emma took a deep breath.  "I am Emma."  Crap.  She hadn't meant to say that.   
Heidi stopped in her tracks and stared at Emma.  Emma tried to figure out what Heidi was thinking.  She didn't look angry, but she didn't look happy either.  Why should she?  Since the girls weren't Ted's biologically, they also weren't biologically related to Caroline and Catherine, so she probably didn't feel a connection to Emma.  Emma had just revealed to her that she'd spent the past few days lying and pretending to be the girl she'd helped raise.  She had a right to be upset.  
Before Heidi had a chance to say anything else, Caroline and Catherine came in from the backyard, asking "Caylee" to play with them. This conversation was over for now, but Emma knew it was far from over.


	10. DC

"Emma, can I come in?" Heidi asked.  
Emma sighed.  "Sure."  All day, Heidi had been giving her odd looks.  Ted still hadn't gotten back from San Antonio, but Emma knew when he did, it would be time to come clean.  Heidi had been calling Emma Caylee all day long, probably for Caroline and Catherine's sake.  
Heidi came into Emma's room.  "Do you have any idea what kind of mess you and your sister have created?  You traveled under a false identity, you both lied to each other's families, now you'll be flying to DC under a false identity... Ted's spending the night in San Antonio and flying out of there, and you, me and the girls are flying out from Houston, and I'll have to watch you pretend to be my daughter..."  
Emma felt stupid that this hadn't crossed her and Caylee's minds.  "I really wanted to meet Ted and Caylee really wanted to meet Marco."  
"Emma Rubio, you have a life and a family, and so does Caylee," Heidi continued.  "Ted isn't even biologically related to you, so why do you care so much?"  
Emma knew Heidi had a right to be upset, but this was upsetting her, too.  "My dad always told me that if it wasn't for Ted, he probably would have had to give me up.  Ted helped him so much during that first year."  
"And then what happened?" Heidi asked.  
Emma knew what happened.  "Marco lost his scholarship and went back to Miami with me, and Ted stayed at Princeton with Caylee.  
"By that logic, if you consider Ted your father, you should consider your grandparents and your aunts and uncles who helped Marco your parents, too," Heidi said.  "Life isn't a movie, Emma.  You can't do stuff like this.  How long did you and Caylee expect this to keep going?"  
Emma didn't know.  She also didn't know what to say.  "Well, my parents are getting a divorce."  This was the first time she'd said the words out loud.  She was still coming to terms with the fact she wouldn't have any more time with the family she grew up with.  "THAT'S why Caylee had to tell Marco who she was.  Marco's taking Caylee and my siblings up to DC tomorrow, too..."  
"Good," Heidi said.  "Then we can give you back to Marco and take Caylee home with us.  I'll let you tell Ted who you really are."  
"Thank you," Emma said.  "I really am sorry I upset you."  
"You should be," Heidi said.  "Yes, you and Caylee shared a womb, but she is Ted's and my daughter, and you are Marco and Jeanette's.  Just because people are biologically related doesn't mean they're meant to be part of each other's lives."  
Emma felt tears coming to her eyes.  In the past few months, Caylee had become the person she was closest to.  She'd come to love Ted, Caroline and Catherine over the past few days.  She'd grown to like Heidi a lot, too.  Clearly Heidi didn't like her though.  "Marco always said Ted was my other dad."  
"Because he helped him when you were a baby?" Heidi asked.  "Are you not happy with Marco and Jeanette?"  
"Of course I am, well I was," Emma said, realizing that more than likely she wouldn't get time with both the people who raised her again.  How would Christmas be spent this year?  Would she get to see her siblings?  "I'm sorry, Heidi, I really am.  I just really wanted to meet Ted and Caylee really wanted to meet Marco, but they wouldn't even tell us each other's names."  She knew Heidi had the right to be upset, but was she wrong to think Heidi was being too hard on her?  
"I'll be in my room," Heidi said, leaving.  
Emma picked up her phone and dialed Caylee's number.  Who was she, expecting this would go smoothly?  Did she think that Ted and Marco would just embrace the fact that their daughters had found each other?  That their siblings would be completely fine with everything?  Oh God, her siblings.  She couldn't stop worrying about them.  This was probably the worst piece of news they'd ever gotten and she wasn't there to comfort them.  
Caylee picked up the phone.  "Hey."  
"Hey," Emma said.  "How are you?"  
"Well, you know," Caylee said.  "Our siblings are pretty upset."  
Emma sighed.  "I had a feeling.  Give them hugs for me, okay?"  
"Of course," Caylee said.  "I feel so guilty.  I've had fun with them, but I'm not you.  And now another big bombshell is coming for them."  
"How are they holding up?" Emma asked.  
"Dominick's been really pouty, Anthony's trying to bargain with them, Daniella's been crying on and off and Amanda's been quiet," Caylee said.  "It's sad."  
Emma felt sad knowing her siblings were going through this.  "Other than when you first told him, have you gotten to talk to him about things?"  
"I don't want to take him away from them," Caylee said.  "He's not mad, he said that.  Jeanette's been really distant with me ever since I told him... since our siblings still think I'm you, she can't get mad in front of them, but I can tell she isn't happy."  
"Heidi's mad," Emma said.  "He's getting stuff at his office and flying out from San Antonio, but she gave me this lecture about how we had no right to do this..."  
"Well, they had no right to keep us from each other," Caylee said.  "If they'd let us see each other before and meet them and our siblings, we wouldn't have done this."  
"That's how I feel too," Emma agreed.

"I knew something was different from the time we picked her up at the airport, and it wasn't just the haircut," Jeanette said Marco as he packed his bag for DC.  "She was so much happier to see you than anyone else.  So, you'll just tell them once you get to DC and meet up with Ted and Emma?"  
Marco nodded.  "That's the plan."  
"And then what?" Jeanette asked.  "Emma comes back here and Caylee goes back to Houston?"  
"Seeing Caylee again has made me realize I don't want to lose her again," Marco said.  "I want her in my life and she wants me in her life.  She's really enjoyed her time with our kids, so I don't want to take her away from them... I just wish they didn't have to deal with so many life changes at once."  
"Well, you and Ted worked this out so that all four of you could just move on with your lives," Jeanette snapped.  "The girls should have realized after they met that just because Caylee's biologically related to you and Ted helped with Emma doesn't make you both their fathers."  
Marco rarely talked about Caylee with Jeanette.  Partly because he was worried that talk about Caylee would lead to talk about Ted, and Jeanette might get the feeling that he was still in love with Ted.  Which was true.  But what did it matter now?  They were getting a divorce.  "You know that I still love Caylee and that I always will.  And like it or not, she is my daughter, and therefore, she's our children's half-sister, not to mention she's Emma's twin."  
"So if biology is all that matters, does that mean I'm not Emma's mom?" Jeanette asked.  "Because I'm the one who was there for her when you were running around DC and Tallahassee.  I'm the one who helped her with bras and periods and prom dresses..."  
"Please don't act this way," Marco sighed.  "For the sake of our children, we should at least try to get along."  
"Maybe I wouldn't be mad if she hadn't shown up," Jeanette snapped.  "How's Emma going to find out about the divorce?  How are our kids going to feel when they find out that they've been lied to their whole lives?"  
Marco dropped the clothes he was taking out of the drawer.  "You do not insult my daughter.  You know, part of the reason I liked you in the first place was Emma opened up to you so quickly all those years ago."

\- Summer 1996 -  
"Just a warning, she's a little shy," Marco said as he led Jeanette into the house.  
"It's okay, but I would like to meet her," Jeanette said.  
Marco had been dating Jeanette for almost a year now.  She was pretty and sweet, but he still found himself missing Ted.  But who was he kidding?  Ted probably didn't want to get back together.  And Marco himself was to blame for that.  He was the one who'd gone back to Florida.  Last year, he'd ordered a copy of the Princeton graduation brochure, and sure enough, there was a photo of Ted in it.  Ted looked so happy.  And he was holding Caylee, who also looked so happy.  He'd done his best to be happy and make Emma happy.  He had graduated from college and was doing pretty well in law school.  Emma had just finished her first year of preschool.  His parents and siblings were a huge help with Emma.  But that didn't mean he didn't miss Ted and Caylee.  Emma had already asked him where her mommy was.  She'd cried when he'd told her that her mommy died.  But if he'd told Emma the whole story, he was sure he'd be the one who was crying.  
"Anyone home?" Marco called out.  
Emma came running into the kitchen.  "Daddy!"  She wrapped her arms around Marco's legs.  
Marco picked up Emma and gave her a kiss.  "Hi sweetheart!  I missed you!"  
"Missed you too," Emma giggled, wrapping her arms around Marco's neck.  
Marco turned to his sister, Veronica, who'd been watching Emma while he took Jeanette to lunch and a movie.  "Was she good?"  
"She was an angel," Veronica said.  "We colored pictures."  
"That sounds fun," Marco said.  
Emma nodded enthusiastically.  "Want to see the picture I made?"  
"I'd love to, but just a minute," Marco said.  "Emma, this is my friend Jeanette."  
"Hi!" Emma said.  "I'm Emma.  I'm three."  
"Hi Emma, it's nice to meet you," Jeanette said.  "Your daddy's told me all about you."  
"I love my daddy," Emma said.  
"I know you do, and he loves you lots and lots," Jeanette said.  
"Now can I show you my pictures?" Emma asked Marco.  She turned to Jeanette.  "You can see them too."  
"I'd love to see them," Jeanette said.  She turned to Marco.  "She's adorable.  Such a daddy's girl."  
Emma held up some of her colorings.  "Look!"  
"Very nice!" Marco said.  
"My daddy gave me these crayons," Emma told Jeanette.  "There are 100 different colors!"  
"That's a lot of colors," Jeanette pointed out.  
Emma giggled.  "Yeah.  You're really pretty."  
"She is, isn't she?" Marco asked.

\- November 2014 -  
"Yeah, I remember," Jeanette said.  "So does everything we did for Emma mean nothing to her?  Is Caylee unhappy with the Cruzes?"  
"Emma called every day all semester, of course she loves us, but she found out something big had been kept from her," Marco said.  "I can't blame the girls for doing it.  If I had it to do over, I would have let them see each other more."  
"Then why didn't you just call Ted?" Jeanette asked.  
Marco couldn't answer that.  Jeanette was already angry.  It made sense.  It felt like they were always mad at each other about something or other these days.  Even though they were getting a divorce, he didn't want to say that it would have been hard to talk to Ted and that he was afraid Ted would be mad at him.  
"You still love him, don't you?" Jeanette asked.  
Before Marco had a chance to respond, a piercing scream filled the house.  Marco and Jeanette went into Emma's bedroom.  "I told you not to scream," Marco heard Caylee saying.  
"What's going on in here?" Marco asked.  
"She's double piercing Amanda and Daniella's ears," Anthony said.  
"Cay... Emma!" Jeanette snapped.  
"Let us have some fun," Amanda snapped back.  "You won't even let me wear platform shoes, Mom.  And for the record, I didn't scream."  
"There was blood, it was gross," Dominick said, making a face.  
"Now what made you girls think this was a good idea?" Marco asked.  He didn't want to get mad at the kids, having just met Caylee and knowing that they were upset, but he almost felt like they were doing this as revenge.  
"Well, they're upset about the divorce, and I wanted to cheer them up," Caylee said.  "The night I got home, Amanda told me she wanted a second hole after she saw mine, but someone," she eyed Jeanette, "wouldn't let her get one, so I offered to do it for her.  So I asked Daniella if she wanted me to do it, too."  
Marco had to feel good about the fact that Caylee cared about her siblings, but still, this wasn't the way to cheer them up.  
"Give me your phones, girls," Jeanette said.  "Your phones will stay here with me while you're in DC."  
"Hey, I'm an adult," Caylee said.  "You can't tell me what to do, Jeanette."  
"Don't mouth out to me, Emma," Jeanette said.  
"Why don't you all just go to your rooms?" Marco interrupted.  
"Of course, going easy on them, like always," Jeanette snapped.  
Marco's phone vibrated.  He looked at it and saw a text from an unfamiliar number.  "Dad, this is Emma, texting you on Caylee's phone.  I'm sorry about what we did and I hope you're not mad at me.  Can you call me?"

There really was no Senate committee meeting.  
The truth was, Ted needed to get away from Heidi for a little.  Things were falling apart, and he knew it.  Ever since Caylee got home from school, there had been an unspoken agreement to try to keep things together.  Caroline and Catherine were too young to really notice how bad things were, but Caylee would definitely notice.  
It felt like all Ted and Heidi did anymore was yell at each other over the smallest things.  They'd been arguing a lot over the past few years, but it had gotten particularly bad over the past few weeks.  When he was in DC, they could go days without calling each other and not notice.  When he was home, he spent more time with the girls than with her.  Maybe that was for the better, because it felt like they couldn't do anything without annoying each other.  
Just earlier today, when Caylee took Caroline and Catherine to a movie, Ted and Heidi spent almost the whole time screaming at each other about who should fold the laundry.  This was only the most recent thing that should have been a small disagreement that turned out to be anything but.  
Ted would have loved for Caylee to come to DC with him.  He didn't even get to see her on the weekends now that she was in Chicago.  He did feel bad about never taking her to DC.  Even if she disagreed with him on everything, she did love politics.  But taking her to DC would risk her running into Marco - or Emma.  
But since it was a holiday weekend, he didn't have to worry about that.  And he did like the idea of having some time with Caylee before she went back to Chicago.  
But when he told Heidi that he was bringing Caylee along to DC, Heidi suggested she, Caroline and Catherine come along.  He guessed he couldn't blame Heidi.  She wanted time with Caylee too.  Caroline and Catherine would want more time with their sister.  But he was so tired of arguing with Heidi all the time.  
At least a night in San Antonio would mean no arguments for one night.

Emma's phone was vibrating.  She looked at it.  The number she had put in Caylee's phone had come up.  If Heidi knew who was calling, she probably wouldn't be happy. Still, this was the person who Emma probably most needed to talk to right now.  She picked up her phone.  "Hi Dad."  
"Hey baby," Marco said.  "How are you doing?"  
"Well, you know," Emma sighed.  "I'm kind of in shock.  How are the kids doing?"  
"They're holding up," Marco said.  
"I miss you," Emma said.  "I miss them."  At least it didn't sound like he was mad at her.  
"I miss you too," Marco said.  "So, what do you think of your other dad?"  
"He's amazing," Emma giggled.  "You're not mad?"  
"No, sweetheart, of course I'm not mad," Marco said.  "I shouldn't have kept you from him and from your sister.  And Emma, I'm very sorry this is how you had to find out about the divorce."  
"I texted Mom too and asked her to call me..." Emma began.  Since Ted and Marco had been with both Caylee and Emma when they were babies, it was expected for them both to feel a connection to both girls, but Jeanette's reaction might be similar to Heidi's.  
"I think she's still processing everything, I'm sure she'll call you," Marco said.  
His voice didn't sound very convincing, like he was just telling Emma what she would probably want to hear.  "Um, Dad, Ted doesn't know who I am yet," Emma blurted out.  "He went to his San Antonio office to pick up some things and I wanted to tell him in person... I'll hopefully get to tell him before we see you tomorrow... anyway, I should finish packing, but I'll see you tomorrow.  I love you, Dad."  She hung up the phone, not wanting to hear Marco's reaction.  Marco had taken it well, but would Ted?  Heidi was angry and Jeanette wouldn't return Emma's text.

Heidi was still giving Emma looks on the flight to DC.  Emma had put on a movie on her laptop to watch with Caroline and Catherine on the flight.  Luckily, the girls seemed oblivious to the fact that this wasn't their sister.  "So girls, your father texted me, he's at the apartment building," Heidi said.  
Well, at least Heidi didn't say "Ted's here," or something like that.  Emma was about to get out her phone to text Caylee, but then she saw something that distracted her - something that took her mind off her fears.  "Oh my God, it's Hillary Clinton," Emma squealed.  
"Isn't she the one Daddy doesn't like?" Caroline asked.  
"Yeah, he doesn't like her," Heidi said.  
"He should," Emma said.  "She's smart and she's done so many great things for our country.  She's one of the best secretaries of state the country ever saw, Newsweek said she's the best Secretary of State since Marshall, and she visited more countries than anyone before.  She's fought for women's rights like no one has before and she basically redefined the role of First Lady.  I'm really hoping she runs for president in 2016 because she'd be great..."  
Heidi gave Emma a look.  "Em... Caylee, you know that's not how your father and I feel."  
"Maybe we should let Caroline and Catherine form their own opinions," Emma said.  "That's what I did."  
"You should say hi to her if you like her," Catherine said.  
"Yeah, go say hi to her Caylee," Caroline said.  
Emma gulped.  Hillary Clinton was over there, getting coffee.  She'd wanted to meet Hillary Clinton her whole life, but now that Hillary was actually here, she didn't know what to do or say.  What if she said or did something stupid?  And what if the Secret Service tried to investigate her?  After all, she had, once again, traveled under a false identity, as Heidi had said.  "I'll be right back."  
Heidi looked annoyed.  "Okay."  
Emma walked over to the coffee table where Hillary was sitting.  "Secretary Clinton... my name is Emma, I'm from Florida."  Crap.  She still hadn't broken the habit.  "I just wanted to say you're my idol."  
Hillary gave Emma a big smile.  "Thank you, that's very sweet of you!  So, are you in school right now?"  
"Yeah, I'm studying writing at Northwestern," Emma said.  "I love to write, but I especially like writing about politics."  
"That's great," Hillary said.  
"I really want you to run for president in 2016," Emma said.  "And since I'm from a big swing state, you can count on my vote."  Was this really happening?  Was she meeting her idol?  "I'll campaign for you, regardless of what my Republican father wants me to do."  
"So you have a mind of your own, I see," Hillary said.  "And you know, my parents were conservatives, too, so that's something we have in common.  What school do you go to?"  
"Oh, I go to Northwestern," Emma said.  "I know you're originally from Chicago, too!"  
"I am," Hillary said.  "Well, Emma, promise me one thing: you'll never give up on your dreams and keep writing."  
Emma giggled.  "Yeah, I promise."  She got out her phone.  "Can we take a selfie?"  
"Of course," Hillary said.  Emma saw a text from Caylee, asking if they'd arrived yet.  She'd text Caylee back, after she took the selfie with Hillary.  
"Can I give you a hug?" Emma asked.  
"Of course," Hillary said, giving Emma hug.  
Emma squealed as she walked back over to Heidi, Caroline and Catherine.

Caylee still hadn't heard back from Emma yet.  The Cruz plane was supposed to arrive before the Rubio plane, so why hadn't she heard from her sister?  
"Hello, Senator Rubio," a voice said.  Caylee knew that voice.  At least she thought she did.  She looked up and sure enough, Hillary Clinton was standing there.  
Hillary Clinton was there.  
"Emma, you didn't tell me that THIS was your father!" Hillary said.  
Emma?  What was Hillary talking about?  How did she know?  Caylee just managed to giggle.  "Hi... Hillary," she said.  "Is it okay if I call you Hillary?"  
"Of course," Hillary said.  
"You know my daughter?" Marco asked.  
"We just met," Hillary said.  "Just a few minutes ago."  
Then Caylee realized.  Emma must have already run into Hillary.  "Oh, it must have been a girl who looked like me named Emma," Caylee said.  
"What a coincidence," Hillary said.  
"But I want you to know, you're amazing, and I want you to run for president in 2016," Caylee said.  "I was rooting for you in 2008 too, much to his disappointment."  
"Well, thank you Emma," Hillary laughed.  "And it's nice to see you, Senator."  
"You too," Marco said politely.  "These are my other kids.  This is Dominick, and Anthony, and Amanda, and Daniella."  
"It's very nice to meet you guys," Hillary said.  She looked at Marco.  "How are you?  I haven't seen you since I retired from being Secretary of State."  
Hillary was even nice to people of different parties.  Caylee had always looked up to Hillary, but now she did even more.  
"I'm doing well," Marco said.  "Nice to have Emma home from grad school, and these guys are getting big.  I thought I'd take them to DC to show them the city."  
"Well, it's a great city," Hillary said.  
"Hillary... do you mind if I take a selfie with you?" Caylee asked.  
"Of course," Hillary said.  
"Thanks!" Caylee said, giving Hillary a hug as she took a photo with her phone.  "It was really great to meet you."  
As the family said goodbye to Hillary and started to leave, Marco leaned over and whispered to Caylee.  "Do you think she met your sister, too?"  
Caylee looked at her phone.  "Looks like it."  
"How does she know Emma?" Dominick asked.  
"Oh, it was probably a girl who looked like me," Caylee said. "I just met Hillary Clinton! Dad, while we're here, you should let me meet Obama, too..."  
"We'll see," Marco said, hailing the taxi.

"When's Daddy going to get here?" Catherine asked as she, Caroline, Heidi and Emma sat in the lobby the apartment building.  
"I'm sure he will soon, honey," Heidi said.  
Emma looked down at her phone. There was a text from Caylee, saying they were just arriving at Marco's apartment building and the name of it.  
It was the same one that Ted's apartment was at.  
Emma handed her phone to Heidi. Heidi typed a message and handed the phone back to Emma. "Good. As soon as Ted gets here, we can get this done, maybe without the kids finding out."  
Emma groaned. Maybe, just maybe, she wanted to reveal to Caroline and Catherine who she was. Or did she? They might be as upset as Heidi was.

"So, we're here," Marco said, leading Caylee, Amanda, Daniella, Anthony and Dominick into his apartment. "I'm sorry, like I said, I only have two bedrooms because I didn't expect you guys to come here very much. I guess we can do boys in my room with me and girls in the guest room."  
"Why don't we get to come here?" Daniella asked. "This is cool. You didn't tell us this building has a gym and a game room and a pool and a restaurant."  
"It's like you live at a hotel," Amanda added. "She forgot to mention the movie theatre and the bowling alley."  
They'd find out soon enough. Meanwhile, Marco wanted to enjoy some time before all hell undoubtedly broke loose. "So, do you guys want me to show you around the building?"  
"Can you take us to the White House?" Anthony asked.  
"I'm not sure about that," Marco said.  
Caylee handed her phone to Marco. There was a text from Emma that said that Ted's apartment was in the same building as Marco's.  
Marco felt his heart skip a beat.  
Was Ted here?  
Did he know Marco was here?  
Had he figured out what was going on yet?  
He couldn't let himself get overwhelmed. He told the kids the trip to DC was to help them feel better about the divorce. The least he could do was try to do that. "I'll see what I can do, and maybe I'll take you guys to the monuments and to my office, but how about we just unpack now, and then we can maybe go get some snacks at the restaurant?"

"Daddy!"  
Ted smiled at the sight of Caroline and Catherine running up to him. He picked up his daughters and looked over at Heidi. "Hi Heidi."  
"Hello Ted," Heidi said.  
This wasn't how spouses were supposed to greet each other, and he knew it.  
"Where's Caylee?" Ted asked.  
"She went to go get a snack at the restaurant," Heidi said. "Now that you're here, how about we go up to your apartment?"  
"I thought the girls might like to see the building," Ted said. "There's lots of fun stuff for them to do in here while we're in DC."  
"Oh, I don't think the girls and I will stay long," Heidi said.  
"Come on, this should be fun," Ted said. "The kids haven't seen DC yet."  
Heidi looked annoyed. "Well, I think I'll go up to the apartment. If you want to show the girls around, that's fine."  
Ted didn't want to argue in front of the girls, so he just handed one of his keys to Heidi. "Here you go." This was the whole reason he'd planned to go to DC. Yet another argument was about to start. And he was tired of this.

"She's at the restaurant," Caylee whispered to Marco. The four younger kids had become pretty engrossed in game of Wii bowling in the apartment building's game room, so maybe now would be a good time to go meet up with Emma.  
Marco nodded, then looked at the younger kids. "Hey guys, your sister and I are just going to run to check my mail real quick. We'll be back in a few minutes, okay?"  
"Okay," Dominick said. "YES! I just bowled a strike."  
"Maybe we can go to the real bowling alley later, all of us," Caylee said. All of us. Would they be willing to go with BOTH their older sisters? She knew this could very well be the last pleasant exchange with her half siblings.  
"Yeah, that would be fun!" Anthony agreed.  
"We'll be right back," Marco said as he and Caylee walked to the restaurant.   
Emma was sitting at a table. She smiled at the sight of her dad and sister.  
"Hey you," Caylee said, giving her sister a hug. "I missed you."  
"I missed you too," Emma said, hugging Caylee and then turning to Marco. "And you."  
"Yeah, I missed you too," Marco said, hugging Emma and then pulling Caylee in for a hug. "Look at you two. I can't believe you're together."  
"About 22 years too late," Emma said.  
"That's true," Marco said with a look of guilt. "I'm so sorry, girls." He pulled them in for another hug. "I just can't believe I'm seeing you two together."

"What's taking Caylee so long?" Caroline asked.  
"I don't know," Ted said. He, Caroline and Catherine had arrived in the game room a few minutes ago. He'd texted Caylee, but still hadn't heard back. "Let's go to the restaurant and check on her!"  
"No!" Catherine pouted. "I want to play in here! This game is cool!" The girls had gotten engrossed the game room's dance pad.  
Ted looked around the room. There were four other kids in there. The oldest girl looked like she was maybe high school age. "Miss, could you keep an eye on my daughters for a few minutes?"  
"Yeah, of course," the girl said.  
"Thanks," Ted said. He walked to the restaurant and stopped in his tracks as soon as he arrived.  
Because sitting at a table near the entrance was one Marco Antonio Rubio.  
Marco was here.  
Marco was sitting within a few feet from him.  
He'd known how to avoid Marco in the Senate, but didn't expect to see him here. And now Marco looked up and gave Ted an uncomfortable smile.  
Did Marco know that he'd brought Caylee with him?  
What if Marco had brought Emma?  
He couldn't take his eyes off his ex-boyfriend.  He'd stolen glances at him on the Senate floor, but he looked so handsome close up, even more handsome than he did on the floor.  He made his way over to Marco's table, trying to work up the courage to say something.  He stopped in front of the table where Marco was sitting.   
"Hi, Marco," Ted managed to say.  
"Hi, Ted," Marco said back.  And then he gave Ted that smile - the smile that he'd given him all those years ago, the smile that still made him flutter whenever he saw it in photos or on TV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally - Crubio!!!


	11. Reunited

Did Marco know that he'd brought Caylee with him?  
What if Marco had brought Emma?  
He couldn't take his eyes off his ex-boyfriend.  He'd stolen glances at him on the Senate floor, but he looked so handsome close up, even more handsome than he did on the floor.  He made his way over to Marco, trying to work up the courage to say something.  He stopped in front of the table where Marco was sitting.   
"Hi, Marco," Ted managed to say.  
"Hi, Ted," Marco said back.  And then he gave Ted that smile - the smile that he'd given him all those years ago, the smile that still made him flutter whenever he saw it in photos or on TV.  
They both looked at each other in silence.  They'd been working together for nearly two years but had spent those two years avoiding each other.  Ever since they started in the Senate together, they'd both been trying to figure out what to say to each other if their paths crossed.  Now neither of them knew what to say.  
But Ted did notice something - while he was surprised Marco was here, Marco didn't seem as surprised he was here.  "I'm shocked to see you, I mean, I know we work in the same place, but DC is a big city and it's a coincidence we're both here..." Ted began.  He didn't know what to say.  Marco looked even more handsome than he did in college all those years ago, if that was possible.  But Marco was married and had four other children besides Emma.  (How was Emma?)  And technically, Ted was married too, even if it didn't feel like marriage should.  
Then Ted heard a voice behind him.  “Dad, I can tell you what’s going on."  
Ted turned to face his daughter.  “Caylee, you know who this is?”  
She nodded, looking a little guilty.  “Yeah, I do, and actually... I’m not Caylee...”  
“What?” Ted asked.  
“I'm Caylee,” Caylee said, coming over.  
Ted looked at the girls and then over at Marco, who nodded in confirmation.  “You mean?”  
“Yeah, I’m Emma,” Emma said.  “We met at Northwestern and everything just kind of came out...”  
“They switched places on us, Ted,” Marco said.  
“What?” Ted asked.  “You mean Emma's been with me all this time?”    
“Yeah,” Emma said.  “I’m sorry.  I wanted to get to know you, and Caylee wanted to get to know our other dad, and we both had siblings we wanted to meet... and...”  
“Emma...” Ted began.  “I’m not angry, I just can’t believe you’re here.  I can’t believe that you’ve been with me and Caroline and Catherine.  Last time I saw you, you were having trouble sleeping through the night.  And now look at you!  I can’t believe it's you.  I thought I'd lost you forever."  He hugged Emma as tight as he could while looking down at her, not believing how grown up and beautiful she was, and that she'd been with him since the day he thought he'd picked Caylee up at the airport.  
Emma smiled and gave him a hug.  "I'm so glad you're not mad at us."  
"Aren't they beautiful?" Ted said, turning to Marco.  "Both our girls together."  
"Yeah, they're so beautiful," Marco said.  "Our baby girls."  
"You know, we're not so little anymore," Caylee said.  
"Caylee, you were in Florida all this time?" Ted asked.  
"Yup," Caylee said, running over to hug her dad.  "I missed you, Dad."  
"Why did you guys do this to us?" Emma asked quietly.  
"Yeah," Caylee added.  "You guys always told us about how we shouldn't have negative feelings about our other dad, so why keep us from our other dad, from each other, from our siblings?  Why didn't you at least let us visit or something?"  
"Exactly," Emma continued.  
Ted looked over at Marco.  He didn't know what to say.  The girls were right.  How could they have done this to them?  Luckily, Marco spoke.  "You girls are right.  We shouldn't have done this.  We were young and we thought it would be for the best for us to each take one of you when I had to leave Princeton.  We were both waiting for the other one to call - but I should have called Ted, since I was the one who had to leave."  
"No, I should have called you," Ted said to Marco.  "They are yours, biologically."  
"I wouldn't have been able to do it without you," Marco said, using that tenderness Ted recognized.  "If you hadn't offered to help me that night, I don't know if I could have done it.  You're their father just as much as I am."  
Ted's eyes fell on the girls, both of whom looked giddy.  "What are you two giggling about?"  
"Well, we did find each other and our families," Emma said.  "But how are we going to tell our siblings?"  
"We'll figure something out," Marco said.  "All I know is that they did have a lot of fun with Caylee in the time she's been here."  
"Yeah, she double pierced Amanda and Daniella's ears!" Emma giggled.  
Ted looked at Caylee.  "Don't even think about doing that to Caroline and Catherine."  
"Hey, she gave me all these extra piercings so you'd think it was her," Emma said.  
"Girls, the point is, we're so sorry," Marco said.  "And there's not any excuse for what we did."  
"Exactly," Ted added.  "We're glad you two found each other and that you're now in each other's lives, but that can never change that things weren't that way for the first 22 years of your lives."  There was no way to really apologize to the girls and make up for what they did to them.  
"I'm just glad we found each other and you guys," Emma admitted.  "But can we still have a relationship after I go back to Chicago and Miami?"  
"Of course," Ted said.  "Girls, maybe we should go talk... somewhere more private?  Heidi's in my apartment but..."  
"My apartment's here, too," Marco interrupted.  "We can go to mine.  I should probably get the kids from the game room so we can talk to them about this..."  This was the conversation no one was prepared for.  
Ted had almost forgotten Caroline and Catherine were in the game room, too.  "That's where mine are."  
Marco handed a key to Emma.  "How about you two go up to my apartment?  We'll go get the kids and be right up."  
"Sure," Caylee said as she and Emma began walking away.  
Ted and Marco both watched the girls walk away before they looked at each other.  There were so many things that needed to be talked about - and in a private place.  Someone may have overheard this conversation.  Hell, they were both lucky that over the past two years, no one had ever said anything about how Senator Cruz and Senator Rubio had daughters who were the same age and looked exactly like each other, or that Senator Cruz's daughter had Senator Rubio's face shape, nose, mouth, hair and body type.  While the girls had their biological mother's green eyes, they were both the splitting image of their biological father.  
"Let's go get the kids," Marco finally said.  
"Your DC apartment is in this building, too?" Ted asked.  
"What do you know, our girls got apartments in the same building and so did we," Marco said.  
"It's crazy," Ted said.  "Seeing them together, seeing you..."  
Marco and Ted went in the game room.  To their surprise, their kids were engaged in a game at the pool table together.  The girl Ted had asked to keep an eye on Caroline and Catherine earlier had been Marco's daughter, it turned out.  
Anthony looked up.  "Dad, this is Caroline and Catherine.  We're playing pool with them!  It's fun!"  
"That's my daddy!" Caroline said.  "Your daddy knows my daddy!"  
The four youngest kids got looks of excitement that their new friends' dads knew each other.  The two older girls looked a little confused.  "Yeah, we're both in the Senate," Ted said.  "We actually wanted to talk to all of you about something."  
"All of us?" Amanda asked.  
There was no easy way to have this conversation.  "Yeah," Marco said.  "Caroline, Catherine, I'm Marco.  Amanda, Daniella, Anthony, Dominick, this is Ted.  Let's all go up to my apartment and talk."  
The kids murmured their acceptance as Marco and Ted led them to the elevator.  Both Marco and Ted weren't sure if they should wish for the kids to say something or to be quiet, but all six kids were quiet on the elevator.  Marco felt horrible to give the kids another piece of life changing news.  He could only imagine the therapy sessions.  
Over the kids' heads, both Marco and Ted kept exchanging looks.  They needed to talk to each other about everything that happened, about the past 22 years, about what was coming next, about how to move forward.  But right now, they needed to focus on the kids.  
Marco unlocked the door to his apartment.  He couldn't help but smile when he saw Caylee and Emma sitting on the couch, laughing about something.  But both twins' expressions changed to a mixture of serious and nervous when they saw their younger siblings walk in.  
"I'm seeing double!" Dominick shrieked.  
"Emma has a look alike?" Daniella asked.  
"Who's Emma?" Catherine asked.  
"Our sister," Anthony said.  
"That's our sister, Caylee," Caroline said.  
"Guys," Marco interrupted.  "We said there was something we wanted to talk to you about, right?"  
The kids still looked confused.  "This is what we wanted to talk to you about," Ted said, motioning to the twins.  
Caylee and Emma shared a look.  Neither of them really knew how to handle this, either.  What were they supposed to say or do?  "I'm Caylee Cruz," Caylee said.  
"And I'm Emma Rubio," Emma added.  She gulped.  "We're twins."  She looked at her siblings' expressions.  They looked like they had no idea what was going on.  
"This is weird," Caylee said.  
"Guys, this is going to come as a shock to you," Ted said.  He put his hand on Marco's shoulder.  "Marco and I dated in college..."  
"What?" Catherine asked.  "You dated a boy, Daddy?"  
"Yeah, I did," Ted said.  
"Sometimes boys date other boys and girls date other girls," Marco continued.  "Before I dated Ted, I was dating a girl.  She got pregnant with Emma and Caylee before we stopped dating, but I didn't find out until they were born.  She died right before they were born and Ted and I decided to be their daddies."  
"So Caylee's our sister, too?" Amanda asked.  
"Yeah, she is," Marco said.  
"Then Marco lost his football scholarship and had to go back to Florida, and we thought it would be for the best for us to split up and each take one girl," Ted added.  "Then your sisters found each other."  
"Why didn't we meet Caylee before today?" Anthony asked.  
Well, that was a question no one was expecting.  "Emma and I had apartments next to each other at Northwestern," Caylee began.  "We met up and we figured everything out."  
"So we decided to switch places," Emma continued.  "When it was time for break, I went to Texas and Caylee went to Florida.  I really wanted to meet my other dad and my little sisters, and I know Caylee felt the same way about our dad and you guys."  She looked at her siblings.  "We're sorry for tricking you guys, but we wanted to meet our families."  
"We are sorry," Marco repeated.  "Ted and I were young and we thought it would be the best for us to just do this, but we shouldn't have kept your sisters from you guys and from each other."  He tried to read the looks on the kids' faces, but couldn't figure them out.  "Please don't be mad at them.  Be mad at us if you feel like you need to be mad at someone."  
"We should have let you all meet each other," Ted added.  
The room was quiet for a few moments.  "So it was Caylee with us this week?" Daniella asked.  
"Yeah, it was me," Caylee said.  At least they didn't sound mad.  "Like I said, I just really wanted to meet you guys."  
"And I wanted to meet you guys," Emma said, turning to Caroline and Catherine.  "I'm sorry we pretended to be each other, but we also thought that would be easier."  
"I'm glad you came to Florida, Caylee," Amanda finally said.  
"Me too," Dominick said.  
"Me three," Anthony said.  
"Me four," Daniella said.  
Caylee smiled and gave her siblings a group hug.  
"Yeah, it was fun with Emma," Catherine said.  
"Can we still see her?" Caroline asked.  
"Yeah, of course," Emma said, pulling the two little girls in for a hug.  She and Caylee exchanged a look of relief with each other and then with their dads.  This had gone better than any of them had imagined.  Emma then looked over at her siblings and went over to give them each a hug.  "I missed you guys, though."  She looked over and saw Caylee in a similar exchange with Caroline and Catherine.  
"Guys, if you have any questions, you can always ask me, or Marco, or Caylee, or Emma," Ted said.  
"Caroline asked if she can still see Emma, can we still see Caylee?" Dominick asked.  
Marco felt such warmth at the kids' response to their sister.  "Of course you can."  
"None of you are getting rid of either of us," Emma giggled.

After some time, Emma and Caylee took the younger kids to the apartment complex's pool, leaving Marco and Ted in the apartment to talk.  It was as if their daughters knew that they needed time to talk together.  
"So, how are you?" Marco asked Ted once they were alone.  What else was he supposed to say?  
"I'm fine, trying to make a name for myself in the Senate," Ted said.  "What about you?"  He was glad Marco had spoken first because he had no idea what to say.  
"I'm doing fine too," Marco said.  "You did a really great job with Caylee.  She's become such a beautiful, bright, thoughtful, talented, fun young lady."  It did hurt knowing that he had nothing to do with how amazing his daughter had turned out.  
"I can say the same for you and Emma," Ted said.  "She's just so sweet.  And she's such a great writer.  She showed me some of her writing while she was in Houston.  While it was incredible, something was different, and now I know why."  
Both Ted and Marco laughed before Ted spoke again.  "I'm so glad they found each other."  
"So am I," Marco agreed.  "And they're both so good with the little ones."  He looked up at Ted.  "You're really making your mark in the Senate.  You're such a great speaker.  I always said you were the smartest person I knew and you've just gotten smarter.  I don't know how you gave that 21 hour speech."  
Ted laughed at the memory.  "You're a good speaker, too!  Your response to Obama's State of the Union in 2013 was pretty incredible.  Especially the water break."  
Now Marco was laughing.  "I don't think I'll ever live that down."  
Ted felt butterflies in his stomach.  Marco still had that great laugh.  "And of course both girls turned out to be liberals."  
"I don't know how that happened," Marco said.  "I guess they're both pulling for Hillary in 2016.  Well, Emma definitely is."  
"Are you kidding me?  Caylee already has merchandise," Ted said.  
"At least they're engaged," Marco said.  "I've missed you."  He couldn't help but say it.  
"I've missed you, too," Ted said quietly.  He was using the voice he hadn't used in years, that he only used for Marco.  
"I made an anonymous donation to your senate campaign," Marco revealed.  When he heard Ted was running, it was one of the first things he did.  He always knew Ted would go places and wanted to do his own small part.  
"You did?" Ted asked, feeling so touched.  "I did the same thing for you."  
Marco felt his heart swelling as he smiled at Ted.  Before he could say anything else, Ted's phone started ringing.  "It's Heidi," Ted said, looking at the Caller ID.  If he felt annoyed getting a call from his wife when he was spending time with an ex-boyfriend, something was definitely wrong.  
Heidi.  Marco knew about her.  He'd seen pictures of her.  He knew that Heidi was a smart, successful woman.  She'd seemed nice in interviews he'd seen and he had to admit, she was very pretty.  This was the woman Ted had two children with and who he'd chosen to marry.  This was the woman who had helped raise Caylee.  Even though Marco wouldn't be married much longer, Ted was still married.  "You'd better get it then."  
"Yeah," Ted said.  "It was really nice spending some time with you though, Marco.  Maybe we can do something with all the kids while I'm in DC."  He tried not to sound frantic.  He didn't want to answer Heidi's call and get into another argument.  He just wanted to talk with Marco.  He was glad Marco had said it because he missed Marco too.  He looked over at that perfect face.  
"Definitely," Marco agreed.  "I'll write my number down for you."  
"I'll write mine too," Ted said as his phone started ringing some more.  Couldn't Heidi give him some space?


	12. Perfect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas if you celebrate it! And if you don't, hope you enjoyed the time off :)

Ted walked back to his apartment, trying to hold in his annoyance. The worst part was, he didn't feel guilty about being annoyed by Heidi. Spending this time with Marco, while it had been brief, reminded him of why he fell in love with Marco all those years ago. With Marco, he felt so comfortable, so at ease. That wasn't the case with Heidi.  
Ted unlocked the door and went into his apartment. "So, when's the committee meeting?" Heidi asked.  
No hello. Just asking when the committee meeting was. There was no committee meeting. But what would Heidi think?  
"Heidi..." Ted began.  
"Where are the girls?" Heidi asked. "Once we get Caylee back, we can get back home and away from all this."  
"I'd like some time with Emma," Ted said. "I think our girls would, too. And I think Caylee wants more time with Emma, with Marco, and with Marco's other kids."  
Heidi groaned. "Ted! You got time with Emma. She invaded our Thanksgiving!"  
"I saw my daughter for the first time since she was nine months old without even knowing it was her!" Ted said. "You know how much I missed her."  
"The fact that you helped Marco doesn't make the girls your daughters, Ted," Heidi snapped. "Where were you?"  
"Marco and the girls and I were explaining everything to the younger kids," Ted said.  
"So you saw him," Heidi said.  
"Yeah, I did," Ted said. What was he supposed to say next? Heidi wouldn't be happy to know how much Ted enjoyed seeing Marco. Speaking of Marco, Ted's phone vibrated. There was a text from Marco, suggesting they take all the kids out for pizza and to the Capitals game tomorrow. A huge smile broke out on Ted's face without him trying. He replied that he'd love to.  
"That's him, isn't it?" Heidi snapped.  
"Yeah," Ted said. "We're thinking of taking all the kids out tomorrow. It's pretty rare for the younger kids to get to be with both Emma and Caylee, and for the twins to be with all their older siblings."  
"So all the kids were fine with this?" Heidi asked.  
"Yeah, they were," Ted said. "Completely fine with it."  
Heidi made a face. "When's the meeting? We really should get home."  
Ted stayed silent. "There's no meeting, is there? What was this? Were you in on this? Was this a big reunion plot?"  
Ted found himself getting so fed up with Heidi. "No, Heidi. I had no idea until I ran into Marco and the twins downstairs that this was going on. I needed a break. I'm so tired of arguing with you all the time!"  
"I am your wife," Heidi snapped. "I have a right to not want you hanging out with your college fuck buddy."  
Ted tried to hold in his anger about Heidi talking that way about Marco. He wanted to defend Marco, but he knew if he did, Heidi would get angrier. "So you shouldn't care who I spend time with."  
With that, he left the apartment, wanting to go spend some more time with Marco.  
Her anger brewing, Heidi got out her pocketbook, finding the list of congressional spouses' phone numbers, planning to call Jeanette Rubio. Sure, she and Marco were talking about getting a divorce, or so Emma had said, but maybe they wouldn't go through with it. Everyone had problems.

Ted walked through the halls of the apartment building, feeling so annoyed at Heidi. He didn't regret marrying Heidi because he'd gotten Caroline and Catherine out of it, but lately, he felt like this marriage had run its course and that it may be time to call it quits.  
As Ted passed the area near the pool, he saw Marco standing by the window that looked in on the pool. At the sight of Marco, his anger toward Heidi melted away. Marco was all he saw. He walked over to Marco and poked him. "Hey you."  
Marco grinned back at Ted. "Hello yourself." He motioned toward the window. "Look at them." If Ted hadn't come over, he didn't think he would have been able to take his eyes off a sight he never thought he'd see, but somehow he was seeing. Caylee, Emma, Amanda and Daniella were sitting in the zero entry part of the pool, talking and laughing about who knew what. But it didn't matter what, because all four girls looked so comfortable and at ease with each other. He never thought he'd see all four girls he helped create laughing together like this. Despite the fact that Caylee hadn't grown up in the Rubio house, anyone who passed by would be able to tell by looking at these four girls that they were sisters. A little further up in the pool, the four little kids were splashing away and playing with some of the pool toys. Then the four younger kids went up to the older girls, and Marco couldn't help but notice how much Anthony and Dominick looked like Caylee as well. All his kids were together, something he never thought would happen.  
"This is perfect," Ted said, taking in the scene.  
"It is," Marco agreed. "I never thought we'd get to see all of them together."  
"We'll need to work out a way for all of them to keep in touch," Ted managed to say. It hadn't even been a day and he didn't want to let Emma go again.  
"Yeah," Marco agreed, his thought breaking at the thought of saying goodbye to Ted and Caylee again. "I'm glad you like my idea for tomorrow night." As soon as Ted had said he liked the idea, he'd purchased tickets.  
"It should be fun, getting to spend time with both of them, and for all of them to spend time together," Ted said. "It's not just the twins. Look at all of them!"  
"I was really worried about this, but I didn't have to be," Marco commented. "And of course, it's so nice to see you again." He paused. "I wish I'd called you. Once we were both in the Senate, I kept wanting to go to your office to say hi and catch up."  
"I did too," Ted admitted. Of course, there was the elephant in the room. He couldn't help but notice it seemed Marco's wife wasn't here. "Did Jeanette come?"  
Marco shook his head, trying to think of an excuse. He didn't want to make Ted uncomfortable. "I just thought this would be something nice for me and the kids to do..." That was partially true. Being in another location did seem to be making the kids feel better. "I haven't brought them here since I started in the Senate because I was worried it would be awkward if they somehow ran into Caylee."  
"I didn't bring mine for the same reason," Ted said. "Guess we were worried for nothing."  
"How long do you guys plan to be here for?" Marco asked.  
"I'm not really sure," Ted admitted. "Now that the kids have reunited, I want them to have a little bit of time all together."  
"I do, too," Marco said. He almost felt guilty for saying this, but he felt like Ted should at least know. "And I want more time with you, too. I really missed you."  
"I missed you too," Ted said. He wanted to say what a relief it was to have time with Marco after how bad his marriage had gotten, but he knew Marco was married, and he had no reason to think Marco and Jeanette weren't happy.

All five kids had showered and changed out of their swimsuits. Marco wished they could have dinner with Ted and Caylee tonight, too, but he couldn't force himself on Ted too much. Ted was still with someone. He was relieved Ted had said yes to all going out together tomorrow night. For tonight, he'd just ordered Chinese delivery. Right now, the boys were watching a basketball game on TV and the girls were reading. Well, two of the girls were, as Emma came up to Marco in the kitchen and gave him a hug. "I missed you, Dad."  
"I missed you too, honey," Marco said. As nice as it had been to have Caylee, he'd missed Emma, too. Now he found himself wishing Caylee was in the apartment with them now. "It looked like you guys were having fun at the pool."  
"Yeah, we were," Emma said. "Working together, they all got me to go off the high dive. That's not going to happen again."  
"Ted and I were really happy seeing all of you together," Marco said, wondering if he had made a mistake to say that. Was he giving it away to Emma that he still had feelings for Ted?  
Emma noticed the look on Marco's face when he said Ted's name. "He's amazing."  
"He is," Marco agreed. There was no denying that. "When you were little, you worried so much that he didn't love you. I hope now you know that isn't the case at all."  
"I don't have to worry about that anymore," Emma said, glad that burden had been lifted. "And I'm glad I found my twin and my other little sisters too."  
"I'm sure we'll have fun with them tomorrow night," Marco said. "The Capitals are playing the Panthers, so we'll need to represent."  
Emma giggled, soon thinking of who wasn't here. "Do you think Mom's mad at me?"  
Marco didn't want to worry Emma. "I think she's still processing everything. You know she loves you."  
"I'm sorry," Emma said, knowing Marco knew what she was talking about.  
Marco took Emma's hand. "We tried to make it work, honey. I hope you know that. And no matter what, you and your brothers and sisters will always come first for both of us."  
The doorbell rang. "That must be our food," Emma said, going to the door to pick up dinner. It would be nice to have her first dinner in months with her dad and her brothers and sisters.

"Hi Mom," Caylee said, giving Heidi a hug as she, Ted, Caroline and Catherine went back into Ted's apartment.  
"Hi sweetheart, good to see you," Heidi said.  
Caylee detected annoyance in her mother's voice. "I missed you, Mom," Caylee said, hoping to lighten the mood.  
"I missed you too," Heidi said. "Did you girls have fun at the pool?"  
"Yeah!" Caroline said. "Caylee's got more brothers and sisters, Mommy! They're a lot of fun and we were playing with her brothers Anthony and Dominick in the pool! We liked dumping buckets of water on Caylee and Emma and Amanda and Daniella. But they're really nice so they didn't mind."  
"That's nice," Heidi said. "Why don't you girls all shower and get changed and then we'll have dinner? It's almost ready."  
When the girls were gone, Ted turned to Heidi. "At the very least, you should be glad that our daughters made some new friends."  
"Under any other circumstances I would be, but not when it's your ex-boyfriend's kids," Heidi snapped.  
"Heidi..." Ted began, trying to avoid an argument as much as possible. He stopped when he saw Caylee coming in.  
"So, what's for dinner?" Caylee asked. "Emma texted me and said they're ordering Chinese."  
"Stew," Heidi said.  
"Are you excited for pizza and the game tomorrow?" Ted asked Caylee.  
"Yeah!" Caylee said. "We were all having fun at the pool. Emma and I were talking about maybe having a movie night with popcorn for the kids one night too, and then we wanted to take the kids to the winter fun park at Nationals Park. We read that there's a skating rink there, and a sledding hill for tubing, a maze, a place for snowball fights and a campfire pit. And we also thought it might be fun to go Christmas shopping with the girls..."  
"Well, you have tickets to the hockey game tomorrow, so I guess you guys can go to that, but then we should get home," Heidi interrupted. "The girls are in school..."  
"It's not like much happens during the time period between Thanksgiving and Christmas!" Caylee protested. She'd been looking forward to the week she and Emma had planned with ALL their siblings.  
"Yeah, the kids seem to be having fun," Ted added.  
Heidi gave Ted a look of disgust. Caylee couldn't help but notice the look. "I'm going to go check on Caroline and Catherine," Heidi said, leaving the kitchen.  
"Is Mom okay?" Caylee asked.  
"I think she's just shocked by the whole thing coming out," Ted said. "What matters is that you guys are all happy."  
"Dad, Marco's perfect," Caylee said. She couldn't help herself.  
"He is," Ted also couldn't help himself. "He really is."


	13. Night Out

"Are you guys almost ready?" Marco called out.  The kids were changing into their Panthers gear for the families' night out and Marco was counting down the minutes until he could see Ted again.  They'd been texting a lot today.  Marco sincerely hoped Heidi didn't see Ted's phone.  Apparently, Heidi had wanted Ted to give a full tour of the capitol to her, Caylee, Caroline and Catherine.  That had been a huge disappointment to the Rubio kids, who had wanted to hang out with Caylee.  But at least the families would have tonight to be together, and Ted said Heidi had agreed to let the kids spend tomorrow together.  Maybe that meant Ted and Marco could spend tomorrow together?  
Gradually, the kids came out of the bedrooms.  Once all the kids were out, there was a knock on the door.  Emma went to the door and was surprised by who she saw when she looked through the peephole.  "Dad, Mom's here."  
"What?" Marco gasped.  Why was Jeanette here?  
None of the younger kids said anything.  They just had looks of surprise.  "Let her in," Marco sighed, not sure if he wanted to know what his soon-to-be ex-wife wanted.  
"Hi Mom," Emma said, opening the door.  
"Hi Emma," Jeanette said.  "Or - are you Emma?"  
Emma was hoping the woman who had become her mother would at least seem somewhat happy to see her, but she didn't seem to be.  Trying to lighten the feeling, she gave her mom a hug.  "I missed you, Mom."  That was true.  
"I missed you too," Jeanette said, her voice not sounding too earnest.  She turned to the other kids.  "Hi guys."  
The kids greeted their mother before her eyes fell on her soon-to-be ex-husband.  "Hello, Marco," Jeanette said with a smirk.  
"Jeanette, what are you doing here?" Marco asked, trying to sound as polite as possible.  
"It was getting lonely around the house, so I decided to come join you guys," Jeanette said, putting her arm around Marco.  
"Shouldn't we get going soon?" Emma asked, noticing how uncomfortable her dad looked.  "Caylee just texted me saying they're waiting for us downstairs."  
"You guys go, I'll be down in a minute," Marco said.  "Our reservations are at 5 and the game doesn't start until 7, it's 4."  
"Reservations?  Game?" Jeanette asked, kissing Marco's neck.  
"Oh, we're going to pizza and a hockey game with the Cruzes, hence all of us in Panthers jerseys," Marco said.  Why had Jeanette shown up?  He'd been able to unwind and the kids seemed to be in a better state of mind emotionally as well.  If he and Jeanette started arguing, that could change things.  
The kids left the apartment, leaving Marco and Jeanette there.  "How come you're here, Jeanette?" Marco asked, wanting to push her hand off his leg.  "And why are you touching me like this?  We're getting a divorce, don't you remember?"  
"We were in love for eighteen years," Jeanette said.  "We could get that back."  She leaned in to kiss Marco.  
"Jeanette, we talked about this," Marco sighed, pushing away.  "It's not working anymore."  
"We can make it work," Jeanette said.  "You said your reservations aren't for another hour..."  She began cradling his face in her hands.  
"Yeah, but DC traffic is a nightmare, who knows how long it'll take us to get to the restaurant," Marco said, trying to keep things civil.  If Jeanette was making him this uncomfortable, he'd definitely made the right choice by deciding to get a divorce.  "You're making me really uncomfortable right now."  
"How about I come to dinner and the game, too?" Jeanette asked.  
"I only got ten tickets and made dinner reservations for ten, and I really should get going," Marco said.  "I'll see you when I get back."  He felt like the week had been ruined.  
"Maybe we can have some fun in bed tonight," Jeanette said with a wink as Marco left the apartment.  
Marco groaned as he went downstairs.  Once he saw Ted and the kids, his annoyance melted away.  "Sorry I'm a little late," he said.  "Let's get going."  
"Are you okay?" Ted whispered to Marco.  He saw the stress in his ex-boyfriend's eyes when he came downstairs.  The Rubio kids had mentioned their mom's sudden arrival.  When they first came down by themselves, Ted was worried Marco wouldn't want to do this after all.  
"I will be," Marco whispered back.  "I'm sure we'll have some fun tonight."  
"You sure?" Ted asked.  
Marco got out his phone and texted Ted.  He didn't want the kids to hear him talking about how uncomfortable Jeanette had been making him, not when they were finally happy.  "Jeanette showed up."  
Ted felt some sadness when he got Marco's text.  He couldn't expect Jeanette to be out of Marco's life.  She was married to him, for Christ's sake.  "Oh," he texted back.  
Marco tried to think of something to say.  The divorce probably wasn't something to talk about by text.  "I don't get much time alone with the kids..."  
Ted could relate to that.  Heidi had been very annoying at the Capitol today.  She'd been holding on to Ted's arm the whole time they were there, leaning against him, kissing him constantly, and introducing herself to everyone they encountered, talking about how in love she and Ted were.  Caylee had said that they were embarrassing her.  Little did she know, Heidi was embarrassing Ted, too.  And Ted knew that all three girls had wanted to hang out with the Rubios today.  "Well, the whole family doesn't get too much time together, either.  Maybe she wanted that."  Typing that text broke his heart.  
Marco tried not to look sad when he opened Ted's text.  The family.  "Yeah, maybe."  
Ted and Marco led the kids on to the bus to the restaurant.  When there was a time to talk in quiet, Marco would tell Ted about the divorce.  He couldn't tell Ted that he was still in love with him, but he could tell him about the divorce.

"Ah, look, it's Lying Ted and Little Marco," a voice said.  "You two might not want to eat too much pizza."  
Caylee and Emma stopped their conversation to see who was there.  It was Donald Trump himself.  Rumor had it that Donald Trump would be announcing a presidential campaign for 2016 soon.  And both girls hated that idea.  
They disagreed with the things their fathers campaigned for, but they loved their fathers as people.  They could both tell that Donald Trump was not a good person at all.  
"You're rude," Emma said.  She couldn't help herself.  
"Rude, huh, little missy?" Trump asked.  "You should respect your elders because let me tell you, no one has more respect for women than I do."  
"Yeah, right," Caylee said.  "I see all the stuff you say about women."  
"And why aren't you two asking for Obama's birth certificate?" Trump demanded to Ted and Marco.  "You're in the Senate, you have power!"  
"Are you still obsessing over that?" Emma said.  "That's a crazy conspiracy theory that crazy racists like you made up because you can't stand the fact that a black man became president before you did!"  
"So much for being shy," Caylee said, giving her sister a high five.  She turned to Trump.  "Yeah, what she said.  You're pathetic."  
"So, are these the little Cruzes and the little Rubios?" Trump asked.  "These two oldest are pretty rude.  Especially the one in the Panthers jersey."  
"Mine are in the Capitals jerseys, his are in the Panthers jerseys," Ted said, not wanting Trump to attack the kids.  If he figured out what was really going on here, he'd undoubtedly attack the kids.  
"And I don't think we're being rude," Caylee said.  "And you have no right to call anyone rude with the way you act on Twitter.  Come on, you said you wanted to be best friends with Putin because he's homophobic."  
"Everyone deserves rights," Emma added.  
"These two look a lot alike," Trump pointed out.  "Are we sure one's a Cruz and one's a Rubio?"  
"That's what our passports and licenses say," Caylee said, not wanting to get her dads in trouble.  Somehow, the younger kids seemed to know that it was best to stay quiet now.  
"What do you want, Donald?" Marco asked.  He knew Trump wasn't a fan of him or Ted and was making all the kids uneasy.  "We just wanted to take the kids out for a fun night out."  
"Why are you two hanging out?" Trump asked.  
"I didn't know there was a rule against hanging out with your colleagues," Ted said.  "We work together.  We're friends.  So we thought it would be fun for our kids to meet."  
"This one looks more like Little Marco like you, Lying Ted," Trump said, pointing at Caylee.  "And more like Little Marco's other kids than yours."  
A restaurant employee came over.  "What's going on here?"  
"Nothing, nothing at all," Trump said.  "I'm just leaving."  
After Trump left, a silence came over the table.  Had Trump figured out what was going on?  What would he do with this information?  While both girls disagreed with their fathers' political views, they still wanted their fathers to succeed.  And neither Ted nor Marco would want their children at the center of a scandal.  
"All right, here's your pizza," the server said, bringing the pizza to the table and interrupting the thoughts.  The younger kids dug into the pizza, already forgetting what had just happened.  
The pizza was good, but there was a cloud hanging over the table.  The younger kids could be picked on if this got out.  While Northwestern was a liberal school and Chicago was a liberal city, Caylee and Emma wouldn't benefit from being attached to a scandal.  
"I'll take the check," Ted told the server as she passed, trying to take his mind off things.  
Marco heard what Ted said.  "What?"  
"You bought the tickets to the game, let me buy dinner," Ted said.  It had been too long since he or Marco had bought each other dinner.  
"Are you sure?" Marco asked.  This restaurant wasn't cheap, let alone dinner for ten people.  "Technically I brought more people..."  
"Let me buy dinner," Ted said.  "You wouldn't even tell me how much the tickets the game were each so I could pay you back."  
"I wanted tonight to be..." Marco began.  A date night with the kids as a plus?  No, he couldn't say that.  
"So the game is your treat and dinner is mine," Ted said, handing his card to the server.  Again, his eyes fell on the giggling twins.

After a good dinner and some dessert, the families were able to take their minds off the encounter with Donald Trump once they got to Verizon Center.  Ted was even more glad he'd paid for dinner because these tickets clearly had not been cheap.  He heard Marco's sons raving about how they never got seats this good at events back home and Marco telling them that this was an extra special occassion.  The kids had gone to the concession stand to get snacks before the game started, leaving Ted and Marco at the seats.  
"Are you sure you don't want me to pay you back for Caylee's and Caroline's and Catherine's and my tickets?" Ted whispered to Marco.  
"I already told you, this is my treat," Marco whispered back, grinning at Ted.  After the incident at the restaurant, they had to be extra careful.  "Besides, you bought dinner."  
"I have a feeling this cost a lot more than dinner," Ted whispered.  
"Spending time with you and all the kids makes it worth every penny," Marco said as quietly as he could.  It was true.  
Ted found himself resisting the urge to kiss Marco.  He hadn't done that in years.  When Marco said things like that, it was so tempting.  Why did they have to live in this sort of a society?  "Awww, you're so sweet," Ted whispered, staring at Marco.  He suddenly reached out and ran a hand through Marco's hair, pulling his hand back when he realized what he'd done.  He'd touched Marco in a public place.  What if someone had seen?  
"What is it?" Marco asked.  
"Oh, your hair was falling into your eyes, so I was fixing it for you," Ted said, trying to think of what to say.  If someone overheard that, it would seem slightly less odd to anyone who happened to overhear.  He tried to make it obvious that he'd been so turned on to run his hand through Marco's hair for the first time in over 20 years.  It was so soft, just as soft as he remembered it being.  Heidi's wasn't this soft, nor was the hair of any other person Ted had been with.  
"Well, thanks," Marco said.  Ted's touch had felt so good.  Bring on the messy hair if it gave Ted an excuse to touch him.  
"We got snacks!" Caylee declared, leading the kids back to the seats, all eight of their arms full of food.  
"What is all that junk food?" Ted asked.  "We had a big dinner."  
"Hey, we have to spoil them," Emma said.  "We got your drinks, too."  She handed Ted and Marco each their drinks.  
Throughout the game, Ted and Marco kept attempting to steal glances at each other.  Both thought the other one looked so cute in those jerseys.  
The Capitals ended up winning the game 3-2 in shootouts, meaning the families would have to head home later than they thought they would.  Caroline and Catherine were both complaining about being tired.  It was nearly 11, after all.  Both Ted and Marco realized that Heidi and Jeanette probably wouldn't be happy that they'd been out later than they'd expected.  
"Hello!" a voice said as the families were leaving.  
Both Caylee and Emma thought they recognized that voice, but they were still surprised when they turned and saw the President and Vice President of the United States themselves walking toward them.  
"Mr. President, Mr. Vice President," Marco said.  
"Senator Cruz, Senator Rubio," Obama said.  
"Are these your kids?" Biden asked.  
"Yeah, I'm Caylee, and I'm a huge fan of both of you!" Caylee blurted out, not wanting to hold it in.  This time, she didn't have to pretend to be someone she wasn't.  
"That surprises me, seeing that one of these two is your father," Obama said.  
"She's mine," Ted said.  "And she loves you guys.  This is Caroline and Catherine."  
"I'm Emma, and I'm a big fan of you guys, too," Emma said, feeling a moment of deja vu from when she met Hillary a few days ago.  
"She's mine," Marco said.  "And this is Daniella, and Amanda, and Dominick, and Anthony."  
"So you each have a liberal daughter," Biden said.  
"I campaigned for you, even when my dad was being considered as a VP for Romney," Emma said.  
"And I did too, while my dad was running for Senate," Caylee said.  
"These two," Ted said.  
"You guys have hope with the younger ones," Emma said.  
"But we'll do what we can to make them liberal," Caylee giggled.  
"Well, you two both have great daughters," Obama said.  
"Girls, no boys until 30," Biden said.  
"That's something we can agree on," Marco said.  
"You'd better watch out D- Marco," Caylee said, quickly catching herself.  "Because I think one of the guys in our class has his eye on Emma."  
"Caylee!" Emma said.  She wasn't sure if that guy liked her, but he was always complimenting her writing.  She had to admit, he was cute.  
"Who is this guy?" Daniella asked.  
"Yeah, I want to hear about him when we get back to the apartment," Amanda added.  
Emma stuck her tongue out playfully at her twin.  "Thanks."  
"Yeah, so would I," Marco said, eyeing both Emma and Caylee.  
"So you two know each other?" Obama asked.  
"Yeah, we both go to Northwestern," Emma said.  At least this one was easy to cover up.  
"I'm tired," Catherine pouted.  
"Yeah, we should get back to the apartment building," Ted said.  "Nice to see you guys."  
"Before we go, I want a picture with them!" Caylee said, handing her dad her phone.  "First Hillary, now Obama and Biden."

"I can't believe we met Obama and Biden AND Hillary all this week," Caylee said for what felt like the millionth time as the families arrived back at the building.  
"Me either," Emma said.  
"You two have lucked out," Marco said.  
"And I can't believe Emma has a boyfriend," Anthony said.  
"I do not have a boyfriend!" Emma said.  
"He likes you!" Caylee giggled.  
"Is he a nice guy, Caylee?" Marco asked.  
"He's the best writer there, other than me and Emma of course," Caylee said.  "And he's cute.  Very cute."  She eyed her sister.  
"Is he a liberal like you two?" Ted asked.  
"Of course he is!" Caylee said.  
"Of course," Ted sighed.  
"Most girls only have one dad trying to scare off potential boyfriends, we have two," Caylee said as the elevator stopped at the Cruzes' floor.  
"Well, good night," Marco said, his eyes falling on Ted.  "I'm glad you guys could go out with us tonight.  It was a lot of fun."  
Ted wished he could kiss Marco good night like he did all those years ago.  "Yeah, it really was.  Maybe we should go skating with the kids tomorrow."  
"That would be fun," Marco said, loving the idea of spending more time with Ted.  
The kids said good night to each other as well before the Cruzes stepped out of the elevator.

"So, do you have a boyfriend, too?" Caroline asked Caylee as they headed back to the apartment.  
"No, I don't," Caylee said as she, Ted, Caroline and Catherine went into the apartment.  
"You're back late," Heidi said, before even saying hi.  
"Game went over," Ted said.  
"Well, these two should have been in bed hours ago," Heidi said.  
Heidi had not greeted Ted and the girls or asked them if they had fun.  Instead, she just said that the girls should be in bed.  
"The pizza was yummy!" Caroline said. "There was a mean man though. He was mean to Emma and Caylee."  
"He was, huh?" Heidi asked.  
"Donald Trump," Caylee groaned. With the fun of the rest of the evening, she'd almost forgotten about running into Trump. "But we met Obama and Biden at the hockey game!"  
"Well, you're meeting all your favorite people," Heidi said. She looked at Caroline and Catherine. "You two should get ready for bed."  
Heidi left with Caroline and Catherine, leaving Ted and Caylee in the living room. "I'm really glad we're all here at the same time," Caylee said.  
"Me too," Ted said. "It makes me so happy to see both you and Emma with your little sisters." There was so much more to be said. How happy he was to see Marco again. How incredible Emma was. How special the bond the two girls had created seemed to be.  
Caylee tried to read her father's expression, but was having trouble. "I wish we could just stay here, with both my dads and all my siblings."  
"Hey, you have two more days, and I promise we'll find another time to all get together," Ted said.  
"So, any ideas for tomorrow?" Heidi asked, coming into the living room.  
"The girls had a day planned," Ted said.  
Heidi clearly looked dissatisfied. "Mom, I don't get to be with ALL my siblings very much!" Caylee said.  
Heidi gave Caylee an annoyed look. "Why does it bother you so much?" Caylee asked.  
"You're an adult," Heidi said. "You can do what you want. But I don't want the kids tangled in this tangled family tree, and I don't think Jeanette does, either. Imagine if this got out, Ted."  
Ted's mind went to the incident at the restaurant with Trump. In an ideal world, this wouldn't matter. But this wasn't an ideal world. He knew that the Republican base was not known for being socially progressive. He probably wouldn't get re-elected if this got out.  
"I don't want you to get hurt, and I don't want our girls to get hurt," Heidi continued.  
This was ironic, when Heidi had caused him lots of emotional pain lately. "I doubt anyone knows," Ted said. "And it's perfectly normal for co-workers to hang out." But there was nothing normal about any of this.

"Guess what, Mom?" Dominick said as the Rubios went into their apartment. "There's a boy who like likes Emma!"  
"Really?" Jeanette asked.  
"Caylee was being a blabbermouth," Emma said.  
"We'll need to go to Chicago to meet him," Amanda said.  
"Guys, for the millionth time, I don't even know if he likes me!" Emma protested.  
"So, the kids had fun tonight?" Jeanette asked Marco.  
"Yeah," Marco said. He didn't want to say out loud that he'd had fun, too. Even if Jeanette hadn't suddenly decided she wanted him back, he wouldn't have said it. "I didn't tell you, but they're all going out tomorrow, and they want Ted and me to come along."  
"You know, if you'd just taken both of them back to Florida with you all those years ago, this whole mess wouldn't have even started," Jeanette said.  
"This is why I wanted to come with just the kids," Marco sighed.  
"You wanted to hang out with Ted," Jeanette snapped.  
"I don't want to argue with you," Marco sighed. After a relaxing, fun evening with Ted, the contrast was becoming more and more apparent. "And you don't know what it's like, not knowing where your child is for more than 20 years, having to keep her from your other children. You don't know how worried I was about this and how relieved I am that things went so well. Let the kids have some time together."  
"Dad?" Marco turned and saw Emma coming into the living room in her pajamas with a worried look on her face. "Do you think he knows?"  
Marco had hoped that the fun later in the night would make the encounter with Trump fade from the girls' minds. But it was clear Emma hadn't forgotten. "I don't know," he admitted. He hoped not, but looking at Caylee, Emma, Marco and Ted, it wasn't hard to figure out.  
"Who knows what?" Jeanette asked.  
"We ran into Trump and he pointed out that Caylee and Emma look alike and that Caylee looks more like me than like Ted," Marco told Jeanette, hoping she wouldn't make things more difficult. He turned back to Emma. "Honey, I don't know..." He tried to reassure her. "We'll deal with it if we have to." He hoped they wouldn't have to deal with anything, but he also knew this could potentially cause a big scandal. He, Ted and their families and friends had managed to keep the secret for 22 years, but this was a different time now.


	14. The Ad

The temperatures were much colder than they would be in either Texas or Florida, but that didn't matter to Ted or Marco.  What mattered was that they were going to have another day out with each other and with all the kids.  The kids had laced up their skates and taken off on the ice rink.  Ted and Marco sat by the side of the rink.  They'd both laced up their skates, but they weren't ready just yet.  
"It's cold," Ted commented.  
"Yeah," Marco said.  He looked over at Ted.  "I'm not very coordinated."  
"Neither am I," Ted said.  "I'll probably fall down."  
"Me too," Marco said.  "But the kids can't go skating outside back home, so this should be fun for them."  
"Caylee did mention an outdoor ice rink in Chicago," Ted said.  "I'm glad the girls like it there so much."  
"Me too," Marco agreed.  "And they've both done such incredible writing."  
"We should have them write our speeches," Ted joked.  Then remembering the girls' views, he realized that might not be such a great idea.  "Wait, they'd probably try to make us sound liberal."  
"Probably, knowing them," Marco agreed.  "I'm sure they'll both have book deals within a few years though."  
"They will," Ted said.  "Your book was really good, though."  
"You read my book?" Marco asked.  
"Yeah," Ted admitted.  "I really liked reading about your family history and about your campaign.  I was cheering you on from the sidelines.  And even though you told me most of that stuff in college, it was nice to learn some more things.  Did Emma read it before you published it?"  
Marco felt his heart fluttering at Ted's praise.  "Thanks.  And yeah, she did.  What about you?  Have you thought about writing a book?"  
"Yeah, actually," Ted said.  He realized he hadn't told anyone yet, but Marco felt like the right person to tell.  "I was thinking of calling it 'A Time For Truth.'  What do you think of that?"  
The way Ted said the title was sexy.  "Oh, I like that!" Marco said.  "About the direction of the country?"  
"Yeah," Ted said.  "You know I'm not the most popular senator, but I try to always tell the truth.  And my supporters say they notice that and appreciate it.  Even the Democrats come up to me and say, 'I may not have voted for you, but you're doing what you said you would.'  I've also tried to break outside the standard way of doing things, so I wanted to write about that, too... sorry, am I talking too much?"  
"Not at all," Marco said.  "I want a signed copy."  
"I'll make sure you get one," Ted said.  
"Are you two going to join us or not?"  Marco and Ted looked up to see the twins looking over the edge of the rink.  
"Yeah, we'll be right there," Marco said.  After what happened last night, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to be seen sitting together.  
"The ice is smoother than the rink back in Chicago and the boots aren't as dull, so I don't think you guys have to worry about falling down," Caylee giggled.  
"Are you saying you think we'll fall?" Ted asked.  
"She didn't say that," Emma giggled.  
"You two," Marco sighed.  
"The younguns haven't fallen," Caylee said.  
Ted looked at Marco.  "I'll try it if you do."  
"I guess neither of us really have a choice," Marco agreed.  
"That's right, you don't," Emma said.  
To both Ted and Marco's relief, neither of them fell down.  When the kids wanted to go sledding, they got cocoa and went to sit by the fire pit.  It was cold, so much colder than either Texas or Florida got.  
It was cuddle weather.  
But after the run-in with Trump yesterday, they couldn't cuddle.  They'd both been hesitant to go out today, but the kids had really wanted to do this, and they couldn't say no.  There was so much lost time to make up for.  
Neither Ted nor Marco knew that the other one was also thinking about how right this all felt.  Despite the fact that these thoughts were wrong, they couldn't help but be so happy seeing all the kids together.  Not only had the younger kids taken it so well that their oldest sisters were twins, they all seemed to be enjoying each other's company as well.  Caylee and Emma would be going back to Chicago after the holidays.  Would it continue to be that on breaks, Caylee came to Houston and Emma came to Miami?  Of course, there could be trips to Chicago as well...  
"You're being quiet," Marco said to Ted, trying to focus on the here and now rather than worrying so much about the future.  
If only Ted could tell Marco why he was quiet.  "I think it's the cold.  I know we're always up here in the winter, but this feels colder than usual."  
"Definitely," Marco said.  "Looks like the kids are having fun."  Maybe saying that would get Ted to say something?  
"They do seem to be," Ted agreed.  
"I'm glad mine seem to have cheered up," Marco said, suddenly realizing his gaffe.  
Ted got worried.  "Are you guys okay?"  
This wasn't a public place.  He shouldn't tell Ted.  "I'll tell you when we get back to the apartment..."  
"Are you okay?" Ted repeated.  He couldn't help but get worried.  
"I'm fine, so are all the kids," Marco said.  
The kids came over before Ted could ask Marco any more questions, telling their dads that they, too, wanted some hot cocoa and smores.  But Ted couldn't stop thinking about what Marco had been referring to earlier.

The few days in DC had gone by too fast.  
Emma and Caylee understood that their siblings had school to get back to, but they were both sorry it had to end.  They'd set up a movie and popped some popcorn for the kids in the Rubios' apartment.  As the movie began to play, Caylee's phone vibrated.  She opened her phone and saw a text from Abby, her best friend since childhood.  "What is going on?" the text asked.  
Caylee started typing a reply before another text from Abby came through.  A link to a YouTube video entitled "Love Children?"  There were pictures of Ted and Marco on the video's linked image.  
Oh no.  
What was this?  
"Emma," Caylee whispered, motioning to her sister to come over.  
Emma saw the worried look on her sister's face and came over.  "What's going on?"  
Caylee showed Emma the link.  "Do you think this is about us?"  She was really in denial.  She knew that this was about her and Emma.  
Emma didn't need to think.  She knew.  She hoped this wouldn't happen, but it was happening.  Trump had seemed to know something was up last night.  "Let's go check it out... in my room maybe."  
The girls went into the room and sat on the queen-sized bed.  Emma grabbed Caylee's hand as her sister pressed the play button.  
"I'm Donald Trump and I approve this message," Trump's voice said.  
"God, he sounds like he's on drugs," Caylee said, trying to lighten the mood.  
"Wouldn't put it past him," Emma giggled.  
"Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio both claim to have strong family values," Trump's voice continued as Ted and Marco's Senate portraits appeared.  "If that's the case, then boy, do we have some questions."  
Yes, this was it.  
Family photos of the Cruz and Rubio families from Thanksgiving appeared.  "Look at these two photos," Trump continued.  "Notice anything similar?"  
"Oh God," Emma said.  This was happening.  
"It doesn't take a genius to see that they have daughters around the same age who look alike," Trump continued.  "And after doing some digging, I've noticed that both daughters are 22 years old and have the same birthday."  
"How did he know that?" Caylee asked.  He would have had to do quite a bit of digging to find that out.  Maybe their dads had posted birthday messages or something.  
"Using our pictures has got to be illegal," Emma said, hoping this was a nightmare that she'd wake up from.  
Caylee and Emma's Instagram profile photos appeared on the screen, with Ted and Marco's between them.  "Notice Miss Cruz does not look like her father... or is he her father?" Trump continued.  Ted's picture disappeared, putting Marco's picture between the two girls'.  Then words appeared on screen: NOSE, MOUTH, HAIR, FACE SHAPE.  "Both Senators attended Princeton University in 1992, and it's definitely possible that they knew each other.  But is it possible that Senator Rubio is the father of Senator Cruz's daughter as well his own 22-year-old daughter?  Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, so many questions."  
Emma felt like the wind had been knocked out of her.  This was the type of thing she worried about happening in her worst anxiety spells, but deep down she hoped these things would never happen.  But this had happened.  Her dads had been outed to the internet.  They were almost sure to lose their re-election bids now.  She was probably about to become a target of the religious right.  What would things be like when she and Caylee went back to school?  And what about their younger siblings?  They might get bullied at school.  They attended Catholic schools, which weren't fond of the LGBT community.  
Caylee felt anger brewing up.  Who did Trump think he was?  As much as she disliked it, she knew her dad was a target.  But weren't his kids off limits?  She wasn't running for anything.  She wanted people to know who she was, but for her writing, not for a scandal.  Did Trump have no grasp on basic human decency?  Did he not know there were limits?  People's private lives were supposed to be kept private.  
Maybe the video hadn't circulated much yet, but even if it wasn't up long, it could be downloaded and news outlets would undoubtedly cover it.  
"I don't know what to do," Emma admitted.  
"Me either," Caylee said.  She wasn't sure if she should post a reaction or just ignore it.  
"Maybe we should tell our dads," Emma said, sending a text to her dad to come into the room.  
Marco had almost told Ted about him and Jeanette when he got a text from Emma to come into her bedroom.  He and Ted had been talking and it felt so natural.  To their surprise, Heidi and Jeanette had both been fine with going out today and then hanging out in Marco's apartment.  
"Hello ladies," Ted said, smiling at the sight of his daughters.  However, he stopped smiling when he saw both girls looked upset.  
"Weren't you guys watching a movie with your siblings?" Marco asked.  
"We have something to show you guys," Emma said as Caylee handed over her phone.  
Ted and Marco watched in horror as family photos appeared, then Caylee and Emma's photos between Marco's photos, set to Trump narrating that he thought that the reality was that Marco, not Ted, was Caylee's biological father. Trump had been right - Caylee looked more like the Rubios than the Cruzes, and when one saw them together, it was hard not to tell that Caylee and Emma were identical. But Trump wasn't very smart. One would think he would just forget about this. And maybe he would forget about this after posting the video to YouTube.  
But lots of people wouldn't.  
Ted and Marco were both hit with the realization that their kids were now targets.  
"Abby saw it and texted it to me," Caylee said, looking upset. "I'm sorry..."  
"This is our fault," Emma added. "We're the ones who..."  
"Girls, don't," Marco interrupted, feeling horrible that the girls were blaming themselves. "He had no right to do this. I'm going to call his organization and demand they take the video down and rip them a new one..." He wanted to make the girl feel better, knowing for sure the video would never truly be gone.  
"It's only going to circulate all over the internet," Caylee said, knowing that was true.  
Both girls looked close to tears and Ted and Marco felt horrible that they couldn't make this better. This likely wouldn't just pass. The Republican base had a reputation for not being LGBT friendly. Caylee and Emma were now likely to get attacked by the base and the Trump fans. And there were the younger kids, too. What would their friends' parents say to them about this? They'd taken it much better than anyone anticipated that they had other siblings and their dads had been together in college, but they were young and open minded. Their friends' parents might not be too fond of this. "Your father and I are going to do everything we can to protect you guys," Ted said, not needing to even ask Marco. He knew that no matter what or who they were with, the kids would always come first.  
"I'm worried about you guys, and the younger kids, too," Emma said.  
"Don't worry about us," Marco said. He was worried about the kids, too. They'd been so happy over the past few days, such a contrast from before the family left Florida. It was likely they'd be the biggest targets at school when they got home. "And we'll do what we can for them, too."  
"This sucks, doesn't it?" Ted asked.  
"Yeah," Caylee said, gripping Emma's hand. "It sucks."  
Ted pulled both girls in for a hug, then pulling Marco in. They'd figure out how to tell the younger kids later and how to deal with the press. Sadly, there probably wouldn't be enough time to process this. So many questions were going through all four of their minds, so many questions that might never have answers. Right now, Ted and Marco just wanted to make sure the girls were as okay as they could be considering the circumstances.


	15. The Ad (Part 2)

"I'm not saying who, but I can tell you that two people have confirmed that yes, Senator Rubio is the biological father of Senator Cruz's 22-year-old daughter, who is the twin sister of Senator Rubio's twin daughter," Trump said in a recording on TV.  "Yes, one who knows Senator Cruz very well and one who knows Senator Rubio very well.  Both sources also said that they were in a homosexual relationship."  
"Donald Trump would not reveal the sources," the news anchor continued.  "But students who attended Princeton University with Senator Cruz and Senator Rubio have confirmed that they lived in an apartment together with the two baby girls their sophomore year and that their junior year, only Senator Cruz remained with one of the girls.  We will keep you updated as we get more information..."  
Ted turned off the TV, not wanting the kids to get too upset.  He was upset and angry as well.  Who had told Trump about the paternity?  It had to be someone who knew both Ted and Marco well... he thought he could trust his family and friends to stay quiet... maybe a family member or friend had said something to a friend who told a friend...  "It probably isn't a good idea to watch TV."  He looked over at Marco, who looked concerned as well.  
"Yeah, guys, we have one more day here before we all have to go home, we should have fun," Marco said, trying to reassure the kids when he was really trying to reassure himself.  After the movie, Ted, Marco, Caylee and Emma had told the younger kids about the video.  The youngest kids didn't even fully seem to grasp what had happened, but it was clear that his other daughters were concerned.  Why had they kept this under the wraps?  Why was the world so intolerant?  Both Ted and Marco's phones had been blowing up with calls and texts from staff members.  Some had resigned by text.  But their concerns weren't his reputation, it was their kids.  
Before anyone could say anything else, the door unlocked and Heidi and Jeanette came in.  "Did you guys have a good night?" Heidi asked.  "I'm just here to pick up the girls.  It's getting late.  Caylee, you should get back to the apartment, too.  You can hang out with your siblings tomorrow."  
It was the first time Heidi had referred to the Rubio kids as Caylee's siblings.  However, Caylee barely noticed.  "Trump posted a YouTube video saying that he suspects Marco is my biological father and that we've been hiding this for years."  
"Well, that's true, isn't it?" Heidi asked.  
"Yeah," Caylee said.  
"I thought you were all happy about this," Jeanette said.  
"Yeah, but lots of other people would probably have a negative opinion of our families because of this," Emma said.  
"Don't worry, you guys, things blow over pretty quickly in the political world, in 48 hours this'll be forgotten," Jeanette said.  
Marco knew that Jeanette was not very politically aware, but he was still surprised that she didn't realize the gravity of this and how potentially damaging it could be to everyone in this room.  "We can hope," he managed to say, not wanting to worry the kids.  
"Right," Heidi said.  "Caroline, Catherine, it's way too late for you girls to be up.  We should get to our apartment.  Ted, Caylee, I want time with you guys, too."  
Caylee wanted to be with both her dads and all her siblings now.  "I want to stay here for a little, Mom."  
"She's right, we should probably get the boys to bed, too," Jeanette said to Marco.  
"It is getting late," Ted said, not wanting to argue with Heidi.  "Girls, let's get to the apartment."  He looked at Marco and leaned over, whispering in his ex-boyfriend's ear.  "We'll get through this, right?"  
Marco sighed.  "I don't know."  Not wanting to upset Heidi, he gently patted Ted's shoulder before giving Caylee a hug good night.

"So, did you guys have fun today?" Heidi asked as the Cruzes headed to their apartment.  
"Yeah, we went ice skating and sledding, it was fun!" Catherine said.  
Caylee wished she could have the same innocence her sister had.  "The day was kind of dampened by the video."  
"I'm sure everything will be fine," Heidi said.  
"No it won't, Mom," Caylee snapped.  "There are so many homophobic people in this world."  
"I just wonder WHO told him," Ted said.  "Clearly Marco and I each have a friend who isn't a friend."  
"I've already been unfriended on social media by some friends from back home," Caylee said.  Luckily, her friends at Princeton were pretty liberal, for the most part, but back in Texas, people were mostly pretty conservative.  At her high school, there had been lots of cars with anti-gay marriage bumper stickers in her high school's parking lot.  
"I'm sorry," Ted said, feeling so horrible that his daughter had been disowned by some of her friends.  He took Caylee's hand.  "They shouldn't be doing that, honey."  
"Do you think my friends won't want to be my friend anymore?" Caroline asked.  
Ted didn't know how to answer that.  It was certainly possible that Caroline and Catherine's friends' parents would tell them not to play with them anymore.  "I hope not."  
Caylee knew that was more than likely.  "This'll show you who your real friends are."  
"But why is this bad?" Catherine asked.  
"Because your dad and Marco lied and kept secrets, but sometimes people think that if they do that, it'll make things better," Heidi said.  
Ted was a bit suspicious that Heidi was being so calm about this.  She hadn't approved of the girls hanging out with the Rubios.  "Since people don't like it when boys date other boys, Marco and I didn't want people to know we dated because we thought that people would be mean," Ted said.  
"But why is it bad?  Marco's really nice," Caroline asked.  
"Some people don't like people that are different," Caylee said.  She got out her phone and sent Emma a text.  "How are things going there?"  She wanted to be with both her dads and all her siblings now.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Emma's best friend, Rachel, asked on the phone.  Emma had just explained everything to Rachel on the phone in hopes that her best friend wouldn't disown her.  She'd had a few friends text her to say they didn't approve of what had been revealed in the video and also lost some friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter.  
"I hope," Emma said.  "It's just confusing.  We were all so happy together."  She was relieved that Rachel had been concerned.  Even though Rachel went to public school, they'd been best friends since Marco met Rachel's parents at a local toddler playgroup when the girls were little.  
Emma's phone vibrated with a text from Caylee.  Apparently, Caylee had just had a similar conversation with Ted, Heidi and the girls to the one that Emma had with Marco, Jeanette, and the kids right before she called Rachel.  "Can I call you back?" Emma asked Rachel.  
"Of course," Rachel said.  
Emma looked at the text from Caylee.  "Who do you think did this?"  
"I don't know," Emma texted back.  She'd hoped that she could be open about the fact that she'd found her sister, but at the same time, she knew it could damage both her dads.  She was afraid to open any of the other apps on her phone.  She didn't know if it was good news or bad news that some of her friends hadn't texted her.  Did it not bother them?  Had they not heard?  Or were they disgusted by the fact that her father had been with another man?  Had her dreams of publishing a book or writing for a political campaign gone up in smoke?  She tried to stop worrying to send another text to her sister.  "Are you okay?"  
"As okay as I can be," Caylee texted.  
"Yeah, me too," Emma texted.  She went back to the living room, where her parents were sitting with the kids.  She sat on the couch between her brothers, wrapping her arms around them.  She was legally an adult, but her siblings were still so young.  
"You guys should get to bed," Jeanette said.  
"I don't think they'd sleep very well right now," Marco said.  His phone vibrated with a text from Ted.  "The little girls have finally fallen asleep.  Caylee very upset."

"Who are you texting?" Heidi asked Ted.  
"For Christ's sake, Heidi, can't I do anything anymore without you questioning it?" Ted snapped.  
"I wish Marco and Emma and my half siblings were here," Caylee thought out loud.  She'd been texting Emma since they left the Rubios' apartment and it was clear Emma was just as worried as she was.  Instead of comforting Ted, Caylee, Caroline and Catherine, Heidi had been acting like things were no big deal and getting annoyed at Ted, providing a stark contrast to the calming demeanor with Ted and Marco.  According to Emma, Jeanette was being unsympathetic as well.  
"I know you do," Ted said.  Caylee's words hit like a knife in his heart.  He needed Marco right now, too.  Even though Marco had a lot more to lose than Heidi did, his presence was so comforting.  
To Ted and Caylee's surprise, Heidi didn't insult Marco. "Well, I guess that makes sense. This impacts them in ways it doesn't affect me."  
"Yeah, exactly," Caylee said.

Emma couldn't sleep. She tossed around in the queen sized bed in the bedroom at the apartment, looking at her sisters who were both sound asleep. She didn't know how they were doing it. She'd turned off her phone for the night, afraid to hear from anyone else or to see if anyone else had unfriended her on social media or see another homophobic article about her dads. She was scared for herself, for Caylee, for their dads, for their siblings. She was tempted to text Caylee, but if she got out her phone, she would risk seeing one of the things she was so afraid to see.  
She couldn't avoid her phone forever. She'd eventually have to go back to school. In less than 48 hours, she'd have to go to the airport to go back to Florida.  
All semester she'd been so excited to go back to Florida. Now she was dreading it. Well, her face had appeared in an ad people all over the internet would see, but it would be possible people who saw her here would think she was just a look alike. Back home, people knew who she was. She could risk running into one of the "friends" who didn't want to be her friend anymore once she got back home.

"Caylee just went to bed, but I doubt she'll get any sleep," Ted texted Marco.  
"I should check on Emma, I don't think she'll sleep, either," Marco texted back. He didn't think he'd sleep either, but he was more concerned about the kids. He'd just gone into his room to check on the boys, who were both fast asleep. Now he was heading to the room the girls had gone in to check on them.  
"Marco, the kids are asleep, what do you say we just do it on the couch?" Jeanette asked.  
Marco practically dropped his phone. "What are you doing? We're getting a divorce, don't you remember?"  
"We don't have to," Jeanette said.  
"Even if we weren't, I wouldn't want the kids walking in on us," Marco said. He was perplexed by the fact that Jeanette suddenly wanted him back, but this week had reminded him that he was in love with someone else. He opened the door and peeked in. Amanda and Daniella were fast asleep, but he saw that Emma was awake. He crept in and tapped his daughter's shoulder. "It's going to be okay."  
Emma looked up at her dad, taking his hand. "I hope so."  
What was Marco supposed to say? He knew how worried Emma was, but he was worried himself. "It'll be okay, baby," he repeated, pulling her in and rubbing her back.


	16. Culprits Revealed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys. I know it's been a while. School, work and life got in the way. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.

"Want to bring the girls up for breakfast?" Marco texted Ted.  "It's the last day here, we should all spend it together."  The last day would have been a sad day either way.  Tomorrow morning, the Cruzes would be returning to Texas and the Rubios would be returning to Florida.  This would be the third day of school the kids missed.  As afraid as everyone was of what would happen when the kids went back to school, a sense of normalcy would be a good thing.  
"Yeah," Ted texted back.  "We'll be right up.  The girls are all awake."  
Marco was about to go wake up his kids when he saw Emma coming into the living room.  "Emma, how much did you sleep last night?" Marco asked, seeing the black circles under his daughter's eyes.  He hadn't slept much either.  He knew that Emma would probably have trouble sleeping, but he hoped she would at least sleep a little.  
"I don't know," Emma mumbled.  "One hour, maybe two hours."  There was no point in lying.  She'd been tossing and turning all night, relieved she hadn't woken up her sisters.  She'd been tempted to get up and walk around the apartment, but she'd probably wake people up if she did.  She felt horrible that her dad had noticed how tired she looked.  She didn't want to upset her siblings or for them to be worried.  She was already worried about what would happen to them when they got back to school.

"It's the last day here, you guys should just have fun and not think about the ad," Ted told Caylee, Caroline and Catherine as they headed up to the Rubios' apartment.  Marco had texted Ted, suggesting they all have breakfast together.  The restaurant in the apartment building would be delivering waffles for the kids.  
"It's hard not to think about the ad," Caylee sighed.  She'd woken up a few times in the middle of the night.  
"Just try not to," Ted said, knocking on the door.  Marco came to the door and opened it.  "Hey."  
"Hey," Ted said, smiling at Marco.  
"Why are they here?" Jeanette asked, glaring at Marco.  
"It's the last day in DC, I thought it would be nice for all the kids to have breakfast together," Marco said.  He purposefully hadn't told Jeanette that he'd invited Ted and the girls.  "And you know, maybe Ted and I want time with ALL our kids, and the kids want time with ALL their siblings."  
"Well, maybe I want time with MY husband and MY kids," Jeanette shot back.  
Ted's phone started ringing.  He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was a familiar number.  He picked up the phone.  "Hello?"  
"Is this Senator Ted Cruz?" a voice asked.  
"Yes," Ted said.  
"Please hold for the President of the United States."  
Oh no.  Was Obama going to demand that Ted and Marco step down after keeping such a big secret?  
"Senator Cruz?" Obama's voice came over the phone.  
"Hi, Mr. President," Ted said.  
"I'm glad I got you, I'm going to call Senator Rubio next, I'm sure you know what this call is about..." Obama began.  
"Yeah," Ted interrupted.  "He's here, actually."  There was no point in covering it up. "Want to talk to us together?"  
"Yeah, that'd be good," Obama said.  
Ted motioned to Marco.  Marco had an idea what was going on and handed his credit card to Caylee, telling her to give it to the delivery person once breakfast arrived.  He led Ted into his room.  "He's here, Mr. President," Ted said.  
"I just wanted to start off by telling you how sorry I am about the video," Obama said.  "Mr. Trump had no right to do that."  
"It's been hard on the kids," Marco said.  
"Of course it is," Obama said.  "It upsets Malia and Sasha to see things said about me, but I can't imagine what it's like for them to see the things people are saying about you guys and their sisters, and of course, in the twins' cases, about them."  
Both Ted and Marco were surprised.  Obama didn't seem angry that they had kept this a secret and that they had lied to their families.  "While I disagree with you two politically, I hope you know I have your back in this.  I've talked to my staff and anyone who uses this against either of you will be fired."  
Both Ted and Marco had said negative things about Obama, and here he was offering them support.  "How are your wives doing?" Obama asked.  
That was the question neither Ted nor Marco knew how to answer.  Heidi and Jeanette had both known for years about Ted and Marco's past, but neither of them had been supportive of their husbands and their children having to go through this.  "They're... taking it better than we are," Marco said.  Should he tell Ted about the divorce?  Should he tell Obama?  The divorce would probably cause even more conspiracy theories, and he didn't want to do that to the kids.   
"I'm going to talk to the leaders of both parties in the Senate as well," Obama continued.  "We contacted Trump's phone company to try to figure out who did this, see about his phone records.  I talked to Trump, but you guys know what Trump is like..."  
"Thank you, Mr. President," Ted said.  "Keep us updated."  
"I see the anti-gay bumper stickers on the cars in the parking lot at the girls' school," Ted told Marco after they said their goodbyes to Obama and hung up the phone.  "This is going to be brutal."  
"Yeah, so do I," Marco said.  "But who am I to talk?  I feel like a complete hypocrite for talking about how marriage was between a woman and a man and trying to repress my feelings."  
"Me too," Ted agreed.  "And seeing you again... it's reminded me of how special what we had was and how much I missed you."  
"I missed you too," Marco sighed, relieved Ted had said it first.  "This isn't something we should have to hide.  You made me the happiest person in the world and I'll never be able to thank you enough for what you did."  
Before Ted had a chance to respond, the door opened and Emma and Caylee came in.  "You guys might want to join us, the waffles are pretty good," Emma said.  
At least food had appeared to cheer the girls up a little.  "Sorry, ladies, we were just trying to figure things out," Ted said.  There was no point in lying.  Caylee and Emma were adults.  "The best we can do is surround ourselves with people who love us unconditionally, support each other and hope this passes sooner rather than later.  I'm so sorry you girls and your siblings are getting hurt by it."  
"Seeing what Trump's like, I bet we could dig something up on him as revenge," Caylee snapped.  "Come on, the man has five kids from three different women, he cheated on Wife #1 with Wife #2 and Wife #2 with Wife #3, wouldn't be surprised if he's having an affair with a porn star or has a secret child or something."  
"And have you seen the way he talks about his daughter?" Emma added.  "It's so creepy."  
"Girls," Marco interrupted.  "Let's just go get breakfast."  He was mad at Trump, too, but trying to get revenge probably wouldn't make things better.

A few hours had passed, and the Cruzes and Rubios were just hanging around the apartment.  While everyone's spirits seemed to have improved a bit, everyone also seemed to know now wasn't the time to go out and about.  Marco's phone started vibrating.  He looked at it and recognized the number.  "Hello?"  
"Is this Marco Rubio?"  
"Yes."  
"Please hold for the President of the United States."  Marco looked up at Ted.  "It's Obama."  
"Let's go to my bedroom," Ted said.  
Emma and Caylee looked up.  "Can we come?" Emma asked.  
"Yeah, of course," Ted said, leading Marco, Emma and Caylee into his bedroom.  "Senator Rubio?" Obama asked.  
"Hello, Mr. President," Marco said.  "I have Ted and the girls with me, too..."  
"Well, that's good, because I have an update," Obama said.  "I was able to get a hold of Trump's phone records, and there were calls to and from a Houston number and a Miami number. This possibly could be a lead."  
No one was sure that they wanted to hear the numbers.  It was quite possible that they had friends who weren't really friends, but when the numbers were recited and Obama asked if they knew the numbers, those were numbers no one had expected.  
"That's... that's my... mom," Emma began.  My mom?  She didn't know if she should even call Jeanette her mother anymore.  She'd called Jeanette "Mom" since she married Marco, but a mom wasn't supposed to do this to her daughter.  
"And my mom," Caylee gasped, feeling so angry.  How could Heidi do this?  "You have got to be kidding me."  
"Heidi and I have been having problems," Ted admitted, suddenly wondering if Obama was the right person to share this information with.  "But why would she do this?"  
"How are we going to explain this to the kids?" Marco wondered out loud.  
"I'm so sorry," Obama said softly.  "This probably feels like the ultimate betrayal.  I don't know why they would do this to you guys and the kids."  
"Thank you for letting us know," Marco managed to say.  
"I hope you guys know, I've spoken with Trump's staff and Trump himself, and I'm going to do everything I can to help," Obama continued.  "I just wish there was more I could do.  We can hope this passes soon..."  
This wasn't going to pass anytime soon.  Everyone had been avoiding the internet and television, which was undoubtedly full of talk about this.  And none of the Senate Republicans had reached out to Ted or Marco to offer to help however they could like Obama had.  "Thank you so much," Caylee said.  She thought she couldn't admire Obama anymore, but now she did.  
As Marco continued to answer questions Obama asked him about what could be done next, he could barely focus. His eyes fell on the girls, both of whom were leaning up against Ted on the bed, hands intertwined. He would have been lying if he said his eyes weren't getting misty at the sight of his daughters with the man who had stepped in to be their other father even though he had no obligation to do so. Ted seemed to know that Marco was looking at him and locked eyes with the man he still loved.  
When Marco hung up the phone, Ted looked over at Marco. "Maybe we should go tell the younger ones now." This would get out, the kids should probably find out from their dads rather than from a media outlet.  
"Yeah," Marco said. He looked over at Emma and Caylee, pulling them in for a hug. "I love you girls."  
"I wish our moms loved us," Emma sighed. Her whole life, she'd worried about whether not her other dad loved her. Now, she wasn't sure if her mother figure loved her.  
Neither Ted nor Marco knew how to respond to that. "You girls have lots of people who love you," Ted said. "You have us and each other and your siblings..."  
The door opened to the bedroom, and Heidi and Jeanette came in, their arms overflowing with shopping bags. "The kids said you guys were in here," Heidi said.  
"What is wrong with you?" Ted snapped as his wife and Jeanette came into the apartment.  "Both of you?" If Heidi and Jeanette were going to continue to play innocent, Ted figured he'd confront them straight out.  
"Why did you do it?" Marco added.  
"What do you mean?" Jeanette asked.  
"You know EXACTLY what he's talking about," Caylee snapped.  "You two told Trump!"  
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Heidi said.  "You guys can be glad this didn't get out sooner.  Anyone who's looked at family photos would have noticed you girls look alike."  
"Obama got a hold of Trump's phone records and found out that YOU guys both talked on the phone with him this week," Marco said.  "How could you do this?"  
Heidi and Jeanette stood there in silence.  "Well, you two and Marco's bastard children tried to destroy our families..."  
"Bastard children?" Emma asked.  
"Technically, that's what you two are," Jeanette shot back.  
"Get the hell out of my apartment," Ted snapped.  "You do not call my daughters bastards."  
"Being mad at us is one thing, but potentially ruining the kids' lives is another," Marco added.  "You both claimed to love one of these girls for years, not to mention this is happening to the children you gave birth to as well."  
"I get that you two don't have a biological connection to us, but how could you do this to your children you gave birth to?" Emma asked.  
"What's going on?" a voice asked from the doorway.  Everyone turned to see both the children Ted and Heidi had given birth to and all four children Marco and Jeanette had given birth to standing there.  
Crap.  No one was prepared to explain this to them.  Ted and Marco hadn't had time to prepare for how to break the news that it was their mothers who had done this.  "Your mothers gave the information to Trump," Ted said.  Might as well be blunt about it.  
All six kids looked shocked and confused.  The older ones had some traces of anger as well, while some of the younger ones looked close to tears.  
"Are you happy now?" Caylee asked, turning to Heidi and Jeanette.  "This is what you did.  You made targets out of your children."  
Heidi and Jeanette exchanged a look. Neither of them looked sorry about what they were being confronted about.  
"Guys, we have something to tell you," Ted said, looking at the younger kids. So many big, life-changing pieces of news had come this week. While it had just been surprising for the kids to learn about their fathers' past and that they had other siblings, the kids had been happy overall, but this was going to be devastating. And the kids' own mothers didn't seem to care. Ted knew that after they told the kids, he had to end things with Heidi.


	17. Goodbyes

After revealing to the younger kids that their mothers were behind Trump's stunt, there was a lot of anger and tears.  It broke Ted and Marco's hearts to see their kids so sad.  No matter what was going on, the kids would always come first for both of them.  Clearly, that wasn't the case for the women they'd married.  
After some uncomfortable conversations, Caylee and Emma offered to take the kids to the Rubios' apartment to talk, leaving the four adults in the Cruzes' apartment.  It was as if the twins knew there were some conversations that needed to be had.  
"This is why we're getting divorced," Marco told Jeanette after Ted and Heidi went into the bedroom, leaving him and Jeanette in the living room.  "I knew we were growing apart, but I didn't know what type of person you truly are.  No good mother would do what you just did to your children."  
"Marco, we were in love for nearly twenty years, we can get it back," Jeanette said.  "That's why I came here to get you back."  
Marco shook his head.  "You proved you don't care about me and you don't care about our children.  I thought we agreed that it wasn't working anymore.  Now I know it's not working."  
"You're still in love with Ted," Jeanette interrupted.  "I wouldn't be surprised if you and Ted were in on that stunt the girls pulled.  You each got married so you could have more kids to add to the family and were planning this all along..."  
"Do you realize how insane you sound?" Marco interrupted.  "For the millionth time, I thought about Caylee every day since the day I left Princeton, but I had no idea she'd be at Northwestern with Emma.  And for your information, I care deeply about all six children I helped create.  All six of them are going to get hurt by this.  And I can't be with the person who made this happen."  
"Do you have any idea what divorcing me right after this is going to do to your reputation?" Jeanette asked.  "You're never going to get elected to anything again.  The Republicans won't elect a gay man and the Democrats won't vote for a conservative..."  
"Again, you don't get it," Marco interrupted.  "I care more about my children than my reputation.  And if this is the way you think, I'm glad I'm divorcing you.  Now let's go get your things out of my apartment.  I'll see you in court for custody of the kids, but I'm going to ask for full custody.  And after what you did to them, I expect to get it."  
"I thought we agreed they'd be with me while you're in DC and you while you're home," Jeanette shot back.  
"I wouldn't want to spend time with someone who did to me what you did to them," Marco said.  "This is the ultimate betrayal, but you don't see it.  Let's go get your things."

"Why did you do it?" Ted asked Heidi for what felt like the millionth time.  "How could you do that to our girls?"  
"Well, Jeanette and I aren't okay with you and Marco trying to mess up our families," Heidi snapped.  "This works.  For all these years, it was you, me, Caylee, Caroline and Catherine and it worked.  We don't need Caylee's biological twin in the mix, and just because Caylee's biologically related to Marco doesn't mean he has to be in her life."  
"Why does it bother you so much?" Ted groaned.  "Caylee and Emma deserve to have each other in their lives.  You know I love Emma as much as I love the three girls who I've raised and I know Marco feels the same about Caylee.  Our girls have come to love Emma and Marco's other kids have come to love Caylee.  And even if all that wasn't the case, you and Jeanette still had no reason to collude with Trump."  
"Now you and Marco know what you did to us," Heidi snapped.  "Don't think that I don't know you still love Marco."  
"This isn't about me and Marco, this is about the kids," Ted said.  "We're politicians.  We don't like being attacked, but it's part of the business.  Our kids should not be targets."  
"Stop pretending it's about the kids," Heidi interrupted.  "You're mad you've been outed."  
"Stop questioning my love for ALL FOUR of my daughters," Ted snarled.  "No good parent would put anything or anyone above their own children.  We're done, Heidi."  He finally said it.  This probably wasn't how he thought he'd end things, but he did know they had to end.  
"Excuse me?" Heidi asked.  
"Did you really think you could do all this and NOT have me end things?" Ted asked.  "I don't want to be with someone who gives Donald Trump information that can hurt my children.  Even before that, I was considering a divorce because I'm tired of arguing with you all the time.  I'm going to file papers when we get home and I'm going to be fighting for the girls to live with me full time.  After what you did, I think I have a good shot."  
"If this is what you want to do, have fun watching your reputation destroyed, Ted," Heidi said.  "No one's going to vote for you for president now.  And don't tell me you haven't been thinking about it."  
"My family is more important to me," Ted said.  "Now get out of my apartment and go think of a way to apologize to the kids."

Marco had spent the past few hours in his apartment talking with the kids.  It was clear that they were very shaken up by what had happened and there was some anger and tears, as well as some confusion.  Of course, it was hard for Marco to try to explain to the kids what he himself didn't understand.  So much had happened over the past week and no one's life would ever be the same. He made a mental note to try to find someone who could talk to the kids. A professional. The kids didn't seem mad at him, but he couldn't help but be mad at himself. He and Ted had kept the girls from each other. If they hadn't kept it a secret, they all would have been in each other's lives and things wouldn't have to explode out. Maybe that would mean neither Ted nor Marco would have had a career, but they would have always had their family.  
After some talking, Caroline and Catherine asked where their dad was.  It occurred to Marco that he hadn't even heard from Ted since they talked to their wives.  He hoped Ted was okay, so he went to Ted's apartment and knocked on the door.  "Ted, it's Marco, can I come in?"  
Ted came to the door and opened it. "Hi." He tried to hide how upset he was, but he was sure his voice was choked up. He was hurt by Heidi, but he was also hurting for the kids and for Marco. And while he didn't love Heidi, he did think she was a good person, deep down, and was sure he'd hurt her. "You can come in."  
Ted went in and sat on the couch, Marco sitting next to him. "The kids are pretty upset. I just wanted to check on you."  
Ted looked over at Marco. "Thanks. I didn't think that they'd do this. I don't know what to think about all of this."  
"Neither do I," Marco admitted. "And the worst part is, it meant that it brought the kids all together and us to both our kids, so I wouldn't take it back."  
"Me either," Ted agreed. Should he tell Marco that he still loved him? That he felt horrible that Marco had gotten hurt? "Heidi and I... have been having problems... I thought the days were numbered, but I didn't think she'd do this to me and the girls. It feels like lately, we can't do anything without pissing each other off. Small things make us scream at each other. I'm not happy, but this is too much." Had he said too much?  
Marco put his arm around Ted. "You know, things aren't going well with Jeanette and me, either. We were planning to get a divorce even before all this happened, but I thought at the least, she still loved the kids."  
They sat quietly for a few moments, both thinking about what the other had said, but not wanting to say anything out loud. Finally, Ted spoke. "Maybe we should go back to the kids." Marco's touch felt so right. Heidi's had never felt like this.  
"Yeah," Marco agreed. "But if you need to talk, I'm here."  
"I'm here for you, too," Ted said. They could figure everything out later. Right now, they needed to make sure the kids were okay. As okay as they could be at times like these anyway.

The rain was pouring as the families headed toward the airport.  Since the Rubios were flying United and the Cruzes were flying American Airlines, soon it would be time to split up.  The tone was somber, much more somber than either family expected when they first arrived in DC.  
Emma turned to Ted.  "So, I'll come down for New Year's, like we talked about."  
"We're looking forward to seeing you," Ted said.  
"And I'll come down for our midwinter break, too," Caylee told Marco.  
"I'm counting down the days till I can have both of you at home," Marco said.  
Emma and Caylee gripped each other's hands.  Yes, soon they'd be back at school together, but this felt so right.  Both their dads and all their siblings.  Neither of them expected their siblings to take it so well that their older sisters were twins and one had been kept from them.  Maybe it was part of being young.  
Ted and Marco looked on at their daughters.  They'd be reunited soon, spending more time together than they would with the rest of their family, but they both saw the sadness in their daughters' eyes.  The younger kids looked sad as well.  
The boarding number for the Cruzes' flight was announced.    
Caylee then looked over at Marco and threw her arms around him.  "I love you."  
"I love you too," Marco said, rubbing Caylee's back, trying to hold back his tears.  He'd let his daughter go once and now he was saying goodbye to her again.  Yes, he'd see her for the girls' midwinter break, but there was so much lost time to make up for.  
"He's probably told you, I call every day, so you can expect daily calls from me," Emma said, giving Ted a hug and letting some tears fall.  
"I look forward to that," Ted said.  "I love you, Emma."  
"I love you too," Emma said.  She turned to Caroline and Catherine, wrapping them in a hug.  "I'm so glad I finally got to meet you guys.  I had a lot of fun with you."  
"Yeah, I like having two big sisters," Catherine said.  
"I'll see you guys soon," Emma said, tightening the hug around the girls she'd come to love as her sisters.  
"Not soon enough," Caroline pouted.  
Caylee turned to her half-siblings.  "I love you guys.  I promise I'll call and we'll have lots of fun when I come for break."  
"I'm glad we have another big sister," Dominick said.  
"Yeah, me too," Anthony added.  
Caylee pulled her brothers in for a hug.  "Having brothers is a lot of fun."  She looked at her half-sisters.  "And you guys too."  She gave them each a hug.  
"I'm going to miss you so much," Amanda said.  
"You guys are old enough that we could have a girls weekend in Chicago sometime," Emma said.  
"I'd like that," Daniella said.  
The announcement came that it was the final boarding call for the flight the Cruzes would be catching. The twins wrapped their arms around each other as Ted looked at Marco.  "So, once the Senate goes back in session, we really should spend more time together."  He tried to sound as casual as he could, hoping Marco would agree to it, feeling like he would die on the inside if Marco didn't want to.  
"Yeah, definitely," Marco said.  "Since our apartments are in the same building, it shouldn't be a problem."  The past week had reaffirmed everything they shared in college.  Not only had they been the loves of each other's lives, they'd been each other's best friend.  And even though they chose to speak certain words, they could tell by looking into each other's eyes what they were really thinking.  "Call me when you get back," Marco managed to say.  "We can get a drink or something that night."  
Ted gave Marco that smile that turned him on all these years later.  "I'd like that."  
Without thinking, Ted and Marco gave each other a tight hug, neither caring what passersby would think if they saw two male senators hugging each other like this.  After a few seconds, they reluctantly pulled apart and Ted began leading Caylee, Caroline and Catherine through check-in.  
Watching her sister leave, Emma leaned up against her dad.  Yes, it would be nice to be home, but she wished Caylee was coming home with her as well.  She wished she could be with her other dad and her little sisters some more.  Marco seemed to know that Emma was sad and put his arm around her, squeezing her.  
"I'm really going to miss Caylee," Anthony finally spoke.  
"Me too," Marco said.  "I'm so glad you guys finally got to meet her."  
"It will be nice to be home," Emma said, trying to think of ways to not be sad.  
"Our flight leaves in an hour, right?" Daniella asked.  
"Yeah, it does," Marco said.  Emma could tell her dad wasn't thinking about their flight though - his eyes were fixed on the schedule of upcoming flights.  "You guys wait here, I'll be right back."


	18. A Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it is, the last chapter, with an epilogue left. I'm considering writing another political fanfic, not sure yet. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!

"I did miss you guys," Emma told her siblings, trying to lighten the mood.  "And it will be nice to be home."  She would see Ted, Caylee, Caroline and Catherine for New Years, but being with both their dads and all their siblings had been great.  Despite not having the Cruzes in her life for the first 22 years of it, she now couldn't imagine her life without them.  
"We missed you too," Amanda said.  "It'll be nice to finally have you home."  
"It'll be nice and warm back in Miami too," Emma said.  "Probably warmer than it was in Houston."  
Marco came over to the kids, holding up some paper.  "It just worked out.  A direct flight that leaves for Houston in twenty minutes had six open seats."  
"What?" Daniella gasped.  
"You guys want more time with your sister, don't you?" Marco asked.  "Because I want more time with ALL my kids."  
Emma tried to process this.  "We're going to go visit them?"  
"Yeah, we're going down there," Marco said.  "You guys can miss a little more school."  
"YES!" Dominick cheered.  
"So we're going to go see Caylee?" Anthony asked excitedly.  
"You guys had to spend your whole lives without her, I'm not keeping you from her anymore," Marco said.  
Emma grinned, trying to hold in her excitement.  "I didn't want to spend my break without her."  
"We'd better go catch the plane," Marco said.  "We're going to go see your sister, and Emma, you're going to see your other dad, too."

"I wish Emma was coming with us," Caroline pouted.  "I wish she could move in with us."  
"I know you do," Ted sighed.  "I know you do."  
Caylee looked over at Catherine, who had fallen asleep on her lap.  "I think we all do."  Even though she would see Emma after the holidays, being with both her dads and all her siblings felt so right.  They truly felt like a family.  Even the younger kids had all hit it off right away.  
Caylee looked out the window to see the house.  While it was nice to see it, she agreed with Caroline: she wished Emma was coming, too.  She also wished Marco was here, and that her half-siblings were, too.  
Ted nudged Catherine.  "Catherine, sweetie, we're home."  
Catherine opened her eyes.  "I wish Emma didn't have to leave."  
"So do I," Ted said.  He turned to Caylee.  "This feels like the day Marco and Emma left all those years ago."  
"Do you think Mom will be home?" Caylee asked, trying to take her mind off things.  "The light is on."  
"I guess she came home," Ted said, not sure if he wanted to face Heidi again.  He'd deal with that when he got inside.  
"Yeah," Caylee agreed.  She went inside and unlocked the door.  "Mom, I'm home," she called, not sure how to act with her mom.  She heard that the TV was on and went into the family room, thinking she was experiencing delusions when she saw Emma sitting on the couch, with their half-siblings as well.  "What are you guys doing here?"  
"Surprise!" Dominick declared.  
"We just didn't want to say goodbye to you just yet," Daniella said.  
"I don't get it, how did you get in?" Caylee asked.  
"I know where the spare key is," Emma said.  
"EMMA!" Caylee heard Caroline say as she watched Caroline run to hug Emma.  
Ted came in.  "Emma... honey..."  
"We didn't want to lose you guys again," Emma said, smiling.  
"We?" Ted asked.  
As if on cue, Marco stepped out.  "Hi, Ted."  
Ted felt like his heart had stopped.  "Marco..."  
"I let you go once, I'm not going to let you go again," Marco said.  He was sure he sounded cheesy.  That was perhaps the most cliche line ever.  He'd tried to think of things to say to Ted on the plane, and now he was dumbstruck.  All he knew was that he didn't want to lose him again.  
"You're here," Ted said, not believing his eyes.  He'd still loved Marco all these years.  It sounded like Marco still loved him as well.  
"Yeah," Marco said.  "I love you, Ted.  I've loved you since we were eighteen and I've never stopped.  I want us to be together.  I want you and me and all eight of the kids to be a family."  
"I love you too, so much," Ted said.  "I think it never really worked with Heidi because I never stopped loving you."  
"I don't know what we're going to do since the kids have lives here and in Florida, but we'll figure something out," Marco said.  "All I know is that anything is possible."  
"I've always believed that when two people are meant to be together, they find their way to each other," Ted said.  "And even though the wait for us to find each other again took a while, it's happened.  I love you, Marco.  You mean the world to me and I don't want to be with anyone but you."  
Both Ted and Marco now seemed to be at a loss for words as they just looked at each other with the biggest smiles and tears in their eyes.  "You know, this is the moment in those movies where we fall into each other's arms and kiss," Marco said.  
"Marco, the kids are here," Ted began before he was cut off by Marco leaning in to kiss him.  This was the best kiss he'd ever had and he couldn't help but deepen it.  He wrapped his arms around Marco, giving him the tightest embrace he could. They didn't know what was going to come next, but they knew that they would get through it together with their children.  
Meanwhile, the twins watched as their fathers finally pulled apart from each other. "I didn't think this would happen when we decided to switch," Emma giggled.  
"Me either," Caylee agreed. "But I'm glad it did."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who read my first political fanfic or left kudos! Hard to believe I'm done! I really appreciate your support.


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